The Falcons and Patriots had the three ingredients to victory.

Were the two Super Bowl-bound teams that much better than their opponents Sunday? The NFC and AFC championships were blowouts when the pre-game spreads were calling for close encounters, and many were picking the teams that lost to win.

First of all, both victors played at home, and winning on the road in the NFL playoffs is almost as tough as winning an ACC basketball game this season on a visiting court. The Falcons and Patriots had lathered, capacity crowds roaring from before kickoff and given no reasons to stop roaring as the games got out of hand. Any team playing inside will have the noise amplified, and the Falcons were saying good bye to the 25-year-old Georgia Dome. New England has a storied home field advantage and record, especially in the playoffs, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.

Second, the teams headed for Houston for Super Bowl 51 got off to fast starts with explosive offenses that had to be matched score for score. The Falcons got points on all but one of their possessions until the game was out of reach, with Matt Ryan playing flawlessly and building a double digit lead that would never be closed. Matty Ice in his likely MVP season beat legendary Aaron Rogers and Tom Terrific out-slinged Ben Roethlisberger like he does just about every time he faces Pittsburgh’s zone defense.

And, third, early mistakes are usually fatal. The Packers had a chance to make it a one-score game but missed a field goal and then fumbled as they were about to cross the goal line. When the Falcons got up by 24 points, at home, the injury racked Green Bay defense was hobbled and Rogers was too far behind for another comeback.

Big Ben matched Brady for a while in the second game, except he could not get the Steelers into the end zone when he needed to keep the score cozy. A first and goal at the 1-yard line resulting in only a field goal gave Brady the breathing room that is almost always deadly.

So, yes. The two best teams won, because they played at home, played better and played almost perfectly. Call them Super.

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