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Goodell passes on New England trip, will attend 2nd straight Falcons game

Lucy Nicholson / Reuters

Now it's just getting obvious.

Roger Goodell will be in Atlanta for a second consecutive week when the Falcons host the Green Bay Packers in the NFC title game Sunday, a league spokesman told Mike Reiss of ESPN.

Since the commissioner attended the Falcons' win over the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round Saturday, it would have made sense for him to head up to New England on championship weekend to see the Patriots take on the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But that would assume everyone is past the saga that dominated league headlines for the better part of the past two years, and that doesn't appear to be the case.

Goodell hasn't been to a game in Foxboro since before the "Deflategate" circus began in the 2014 playoffs. The decision to remain in Atlanta, passing up a prime opportunity to get that first New England visit out of the way, suggests he still has no intention of making the trip.

The possibility of Goodell handing the Lombardi Trophy to Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick, and Tom Brady on the podium in Houston becomes more compelling by the day.

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