In 2016, division winners in the AFC were New England in the East, Pittsburgh in the North, Houston in the South, and Kanasas City in the West, with the Wild-Cards going to Miami and Oakland. In the NFC, it was Dallas in the East, Green Bay in the North, Atlanta in the South, and Seattle in the West, with the Wild-Cards going to New York and Detroit. In the AFC Wild-Card Playoffs, Pittsburgh took care of Miami 30-12, while Houston got by a Derek Carr-less Oakland 27-14. In the NFC, it was Seattle over Detroit 26-6, while Green Bay blew out New York 38-13.  In the AFC Division Playoffs, New England took care of Houston 34-16, while Pittsburgh would win a tight one over Kansas City 18-16. In the NFC, it was Atlanta rolling over Seattle 36-20, while the great quarterback Aaron Rodgers would continue his spectacular play by leading Green Bay to a thrilling upset victory over the top-seaded Dallas Cowboys 34-31.  In the Conference Championship games, it was New England rolling over Pittsburgh 36-17 in the AFC, while Atlanta crushed Green Bay and ended Aaron Rodgers impressive playoff run with a 44-21 thrashing in the NFC, setting up the match-up for Super Bowl LI.  Atlanta completely dominated the first half of Super Bowl 51, and led 21-3 at halftime. The second half started much the same as the first half, with the Falcons completing another 85-yard touchdown drive to make the score 28-3. But, as is usually the case, you can never
count the New England Patriots out of any game. On the next series, Brady led the Patriots 75 yards in 13 plays for a responding touchdown, completing 5-of-7 passes for 43 yards, the biggest a 17-yard completion to Danny Amendola on 4th-and-3 from the New England 46-yard line. Brady also made a big play with his legs, rushing for a 15-yard gain (which would be the longest rushing play by the Patriots on the day) on 3rd-and-8 from the Atlanta 35-yard line. Three subsequent carries by Blount moved the ball 15 yards to the 5-yard line, and then Brady threw the ball to White for a touchdown, making the score 28–9 after Gostkowski's extra point attempt hit the right goalpost for a miss. After Atlanta failed to move the ball, Matt Bosher's 42-yard punt pinned the Patriots back on their own 13-yard line. Brady led the next drive down the field, completing three passes to Malcolm Mitchell for 40 yards and one to Bennett for 25 to bring the ball to the Falcons 7-yard line. However, Brady was sacked twice by defensive tackle Grady Jarrett over the next three plays, and they ended up having to settle for Gostkowski's 33-yard field goal that cut their deficit to two scores, 28–12, with less then ten minutes left in the game. After just two plays on Atlanta's ensuing drive, linebacker Dont'a Hightower sacked Ryan as he was winding up for a pass, resulting in a fumble that was recovered by defensive end Alan Branch on the Falcons 25-yard line. New England
soon cashed in their scoring opportunity, with Brady throwing a 6-yard touchdown pass to Amendola. Then White ran the ball in for a 2-point conversion to make the score 28–20 in favor of Atlanta with 5:56 left on the clock. The Falcons quickly moved the ball down field to the Patriots' 22-yard line, but Patriots defensive end Flowers sacked Ryan for a 12-yard loss on the Patriots 35-yard line. Ryan then completed a 9-yard pass to Mohamed Sanu, but this was eliminated by a holding penalty on Matthews. Now out of field goal range and faced with 3rd-and-33 from the New England 45-yard line, Ryan threw an incomplete pass, and the team was left with no choice but to punt the ball to New England. Bosher's 36-yard kick gave the Patriots the ball on their own 9-yard line with 3:30 left on the clock and all three of their timeouts left. After two incompletions, Brady picked up a first down with a 16-yard pass to Chris Hogan. Then after an 11-yard pass to Mitchell, he threw a pass that was deflected up in the air by Alford, but fell into the arms of Edelman, who made a diving catch and just barely managed to get his hands under the ball before it hit the ground, picking up 23 yards. Brady's next pass went to Amendola, gaining 20 yards to Falcons 21-yard line as the clock ran down to the 2-minute warning. Two more passes to White gained gave New England a first down at the 1-yard line. Then with one minute left, White scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, and Brady completed a 2-point conversion pass to Amendola, tying the score at 28. Atlanta failed to get in range to score themselves, resulting in a tie score at the end of regulation time, and leading to the first Super Bowl overtime game. The Patriots won the coin toss to start overtime, and elected to receive the ball. Starting at their 25-yard line after a touchback, Brady completed passes to White, Amendola, and Hogan for gains of 6, 14, and 18 yards, respectively. Then after White was dropped for a 3-yard loss, Brady completed a 15-yard pass to Edelman on the Falcons 25-yard line. White then ran the ball to the 15-yard line. An incomplete pass to Martellus Bennett resulted in a pass interference call on Falcons linebacker De'Vondre Campbell, giving the Patriots first-and-goal
from the Falcons' 2-yard line. On first down, Brady threw another incomplete pass to Bennett that was nearly intercepted by Vic Beasley.  On second down, James White took a pitch and ran the ball right. He was hit by Falcons defenders at the 1-yard line, but managed to stretch forward and just barely get the ball across the goal line before his knee hit the ground, scoring a touchdown to give the Patriots the 34–28 victory. Brady won his fourth Super Bowl MVP, also an NFL record, completing 43/62 passes for 466 yards and two touchdowns, with 1 interception, while also rushing for 15 yards. Through 51 Super Bowls, the NFC leads the series 26-25 all time.