Malcolm Butler scoops on Falcons premature celebration in Super Bowl LI originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Malcolm Butler’s role — or lack thereof — in Super Bowls XLIX and LII for the New England Patriots will surely never be forgotten.
Now with the Arizona Cardinals, Butler has provided some intel on the third title game he was a member of the Patriots for: Super Bowl LI vs. the Atlanta Falcons.
Unlike the other two Super Bowls he played in with New England, Butler wasn’t much of a storyline in the 34-28 overtime victory which saw the Patriots erase a 25-point deficit late in the third quarter. But during an interview with 12 News in Phoenix last week, Butler revealed what his new teammate, former Falcon Robert Alford, had told him about Atlanta’s locker room at halftime of Super Bowl LI.
“He told me a story, he said he was in the locker room at halftime, he told me he was about to pop a bottle and things like that, it was so funny,” Butler said. “And then we came back and beat them.”
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Alford, whose pick-six off Tom Brady in the second quarter of the game helped Atlanta to a 21-0 lead, told Butler that he and his teammates had prematurely celebrated in the locker room.
“I’m just imagining him at halftime,” Butler said. “Robert, he’s a funny guy, got a lot of energy, tells a lot of jokes, and he told me at halftime they were in there dancing and hooraying and then we came back and beat them, so I think that was pretty fun.”
Butler, 31, signed with the Cardinals this offseason after three years with the Tennessee Titans. Alford hasn’t played in the NFL since 2018, having missed each of the last two seasons due to injury.