For the better part of three quarters, NFL legend Dwight Freeney was a big part of the beat down. His spin move pass rushes were helping knock Tom Brady to the ground and fluster the mechanical Patriots offense.
But at the end of the night as New England topped Atlanta 34-28 in OT, the 36-year-old was just as confused as anyone -- a part of something that he's never seen in his 15 NFL seasons.
"Mind-boggling," Freeney told WXIN-TV in Indianapolis. "Mind-boggling. We had our opportunities. We basically shut 'em out in the first half. If we make just one more play in the second half, it's a different story."
He added: "It's tough to put into words just how bad you feel after a game like this. I've been on both sides, so I know."
But the perspective gained by age -- and winning and losing Super Bowls before this -- didn't seem like enough to help Freeney explain away what happened on Sunday. In a conversation with NFL Network's James Palmer, he was not quite ready to talk about the future and whether he would try to come back for a 16th NFL season.
He said the decision to return next season would not be emotional, but after Sunday how could it not be? Players with a mean competitive streak would keep coming back into their 40s to erase a memory like the one provided by the Patriots. Although sometimes, it's better to let the mind-boggling stay that way.
