The Atlanta Falcons have a shot at revenge in Week 7, with a pivotal matchup against their Super Bowl LI opponents, the New England Patriots, upcoming Sunday night.
This season, the 3-2 Falcons have been a far cry from the team that made it to the Super Bowl - especially on offense - but owner Arthur Blank doesn't believe they need any closure for the historic collapse against the Patriots.
"No, no closure," Blank told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. "There's nothing open. I mean, if there's nothing open, there's nothing to close."
The Falcons consistently insisted they were over the crushing loss throughout the offseason, but their lackluster play has kept the narrative of a Super Bowl hangover alive.
Squandering a 17-point lead in last week's loss to the Miami Dolphins also didn't help matters.
"Last year is finished," Blank said. "I'd say the franchise had a wonderful year, I mean that truly. Both on and off the field. We finished our stadium, the team had a wonderful year, competed at the highest level. It didn't end the way we wanted to, we certainly didn't conclude the way we wanted to. But we've learned from it, grown from it, I think we're better for it."
While Blank doesn't need closure, he's looking for a signature win Sunday.
"Whenever you play the Super Bowl champs, whether you played in the game or not, you want to have success," Blank said. "You play the champions in any sport ... you watch a golf tournament, when No. 1 in the world is leading, they all want to win the tournament and beat No. 1. So, New England is No. 1 and obviously we'd like to go out there and have a successful result."
