After finishing the regular season with a league-best 14–2 record, New England advanced to their record-setting ninth Super Bowl appearance and their seventh under the leadership of head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady.

Proposition 1, an ordinance which would have prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in Houston's housing, employment, public accommodations, and city contracting, was rejected by voters (60.97% opposing[29]) during the November 3, 2015 elections.

The neighboring George R. Brown Convention Center hosted the annual NFL Experience event, which featured interactive activities and appearances by players.

[33] Super Bowl Opening Night, the second edition of the game's revamped media day, was held on January 30, 2017, at nearby Minute Maid Park.

It took place at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and featured the performance of Big Sean, DJ Cassidy, Nas, Diplo and Busta Rhymes.

On the front of each ticket was a full polymer graphic that was raised and the back featured a true color security label with Houston's skyline and the Super Bowl logo.

After his suspension ended, Brady took back command of the offense and went on to earn his 12th Pro Bowl selection, passing for 3,554 yards and 28 touchdowns with only two interceptions, while his 112.2 passer rating ranked second in the NFL.

Linebacker Dont'a Hightower earned his first Pro Bowl selection and made the second All-Pro team, compiling 65 tackles and 2+1⁄2 sacks.

Safety Devin McCourty ranked second on the team with 83 tackles and notched one interception while earning his third career Pro Bowl selection.

[59][60] The Falcons, with the NFC's #2 seed, began their postseason run by defeating the third-seeded Seattle Seahawks in the Divisional Round, 36–20, racking up 422 yards.

[61][62] The next week, in the last NFL game ever played at the Georgia Dome,[63] the Falcons racked up 493 total yards as they defeated the fourth-seeded Green Bay Packers 44–21 to win the NFC Championship.

[87] Fiat Chrysler Automobiles broadcast three spots for Alfa Romeo, as part of an effort to re-launch the Italian brand in the U.S.[88][89] A spot from longtime advertiser Budweiser garnered controversy before the game for depicting Anheuser-Busch co-founder Adolphus Busch's emigration to the United States from Germany, its broadcast coming on the heels of U.S. President Donald Trump signing an executive order that bans travelers from several Muslim nations.

AMC and Netflix advertised their shows, The Walking Dead and Stranger Things, respectively, while Fox-owned National Geographic Channel teased its new historical anthology drama series Genius with an ad featuring Albert Einstein and a nod to Lady Gaga's halftime performance.

[98][99] In the United States, Westwood One carried the broadcast nationwide, with Kevin Harlan on play-by-play, Boomer Esiason and Mike Holmgren on color commentary, and sideline reports from Tony Boselli and James Lofton.

Immediately before Bryan sang the national anthem, Phillipa Soo, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Jasmine Cephas Jones, who originated the roles of the Schuyler sisters in the Broadway musical Hamilton, performed "America the Beautiful".

Her performance also included some of her biggest hit songs, such as "Poker Face", "Born This Way", "Million Reasons", and "Bad Romance"[143] and was accompanied by a swarm of 300 LED-equipped Intel drones forming an American flag in the sky in a pre-recorded segment.

[144][145][146][147] Falcons wide receiver Mohamed Sanu stated the long length of the halftime show played a part in Atlanta ultimately losing the game.

On the first play of the second quarter, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady completed a 27-yard pass to wide receiver Julian Edelman to reach the Atlanta 33-yard line.

But on the next play, linebacker Deion Jones stripped the ball from running back LeGarrette Blount, and cornerback Robert Alford recovered the fumble on the 29-yard line.

However, on 3rd-and-6, Brady threw a pass intended for wide receiver Danny Amendola that was intercepted and returned 82 yards for a touchdown by Alford, increasing the Falcons' lead to 21–0.

The drive stalled at the Atlanta 20-yard line, but kicker Stephen Gostkowski made a successful 41-yard field goal with two seconds left on the clock to send the teams into their respective locker rooms at halftime with the score 21–3 in favor of the Falcons.

Three plays later, Ryan finished the eight-play, 85-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to running back Tevin Coleman, giving the Falcons a 28–3 lead with 8:31 left in the quarter.

Ryan completed a 9-yard pass to Hooper to reach the New England 32-yard-line, but on the next play, a holding penalty on offensive tackle Jake Matthews pushed the Falcons back 10 yards.

Then, after an incompletion, defensive end Trey Flowers and linebacker Kyle Van Noy shared a sack on Ryan for a 9-yard loss, forcing Atlanta to punt.

Brady led the next drive down the field, completing three passes to wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell for 40 yards and one to Bennett for 25 to bring the ball to the Atlanta 7-yard line.

However, Brady was sacked twice by defensive tackle Grady Jarrett over the next three plays, forcing New England to settle for Gostkowski's 33-yard field goal, cutting their deficit to 28–12, with less than 10 minutes left in the game.

Then on 2nd-and-9 from the Patriots 49-yard line, Ryan threw a deep pass to Jones, who made an acrobatic catch at the right sideline for a 27-yard gain, giving the Falcons a first down on the New England 22 with 4:40 left on the clock and a chance to cement their first Super Bowl title with a possible field goal attempt.

Atlanta challenged the on-field ruling, but referee Carl Cheffers announced that the call stood, and the Falcons were charged their final timeout.

[175] The game set the record for the largest deficit overcome to win the Super Bowl (the previous record was ten points, set by the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XXII and matched by the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV and by the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX);[176] it is the fourth-largest comeback win in NFL playoff history, behind The Comeback (32-point deficit; Buffalo Bills trailed 35–3 and won 41–38), the wild card game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Kansas City Chiefs during the 2013–14 NFL playoffs (28-point deficit; Colts trailed 38–10 and won, 45–44), and the wild card game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Chargers during the 2022–23 NFL playoffs (27-point deficit; Jaguars trailed 27–0 and won 31–30).

In addition to being the largest Super Bowl comeback, the game set the record for the largest fourth-quarter comeback in NFL playoff history, as no team had previously won a playoff game after trailing by 17 or more points entering the final quarter; the Patriots were trailing by 19 points at the start of the fourth quarter by a score of 28–9.