Falcons’ Devonta Freeman: ‘I was supposed to be the MVP this year of the Super Bowl’

Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman rushed 11 times for 75 yards during Super Bowl LI earlier this year. But only two of those carries and one of the yards came after the Falcons had built a 28-3 lead over the New England Patriots in the third quarter.

The Falcons ended up losing that game in overtime, and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was named the game’s MVP — two things Freeman feels would not have happened had he been used more frequently in the second half.

“I hate to go there, but I was supposed to be the MVP this year of the Super Bowl, but it’s all good, we got another shot,” Freeman said Wednesday on SiriusXM NFL Radio.

Freeman ran for 37 yards on Atlanta’s first play from scrimmage and also scored the Falcons’ first touchdown of the game on a five-yard run early in the second quarter. But most of his production in the second half came on a 39-yard reception from quarterback Matt Ryan.

“Let’s [say] it like this: If I would have kept getting the ball, if I would have stayed in the game, I don’t know why I got out of the game actually,” Freeman said. “But if I would have stayed in the game, I would have got MVP. I’m looking at my stats and I see my numbers didn’t lie. Look at my numbers.”

The Patriots mounted the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history for a 34-28 victory and their fifth championship. Meanwhile, the Falcons were left stuck at zero Super Bowl wins.

“It’s hard to move on from something like that,” Freeman said of the loss. “I don’t think I’ll ever move on from something like that. To be honest, I think it’ll always play in the back of my head, just because I know, I feel like we’re going to get a Super Bowl this year. And I feel like this could have been two [Super Bowl wins in a row]. ...

“I feel like you can’t dwell on the things that went wrong. We’re going to always look at that game and say, ‘I wish I could have did this, I wish I could have did that.’ The next time, we’ll just make sure we seize the moment.”

charles.schilken@latimes.com

Twitter: @chewkiii