In a rematch of the Super Bowl 2017, New England Patriots will square off against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. On the fateful night in Houston, Tom Brady rallied the Patriots to a stunning comeback victory after being 28-3 down. 

Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan, one of only a handful of players left from the team that couldn’t hold a 25-point lead, said he’s long since put that miserable evening in the rearview mirror.

“I’m not worried about what happened in the winter of 2017,” he said. “You can’t go back and win that game.”

Also Read | NFL: New England Patriots rout Cleveland Browns, register fourth consecutive win

“You have to move on from it and try to do everything we can to get ourselves back to .500,” Ryan said. “I really don’t think it exorcises any demons or anything like that. That game is over and has been played.”

While Brady has since then gone on to win his eighth championship, at Atlanta ironically, and moved to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Ryan said that none of that matters anymore and is more concerned about these Falcons (4-5) and how poorly he played in an ugly 43-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday. 

Also Read | Clash of the heavyweights: Kansas City Chiefs take on Dallas Cowboys

Meanwhile,

New England (6-4) is one of the league’s hottest teams, winning four straight games and five of the past six. The Patriots are coming off their most impressive showing of the season, a 45-7 rout of the Cleveland Browns.  

After missing the playoffs last season, the Patriots finally seem to have found their footing in the post-Brady era behind rookie quarterback Mac Jones.

Just 10 games into his career, Jones has already established himself as a leader in the Patriots locker room.

Also Read | Master vs Apprentice: Coach Ron Rivera to face his former QB Cam Newton

“I think that just happens naturally,” he said. “Really good leaders, they’re themselves. They don’t try to be somebody else. They just do what they are supposed to do, and they do it to the best of their ability.”

The two teams are heading in incredibly different directions ahead of their Thursday night clash, but at the end of the night, a win for the Falcons could change all the momentum in their favour.

With inputs from the Associated Press