Super Bowl LIII Recap

By JOHN McKENNA

In a battle of two of the NFL’s most prolific offenses from the 2018 season, the New England Patriots grinded out a 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams to claim their third championship in five years, and their sixth since the turn of the century.

What was hyped up as a potential offensive shootout turned out to be a defensive slugfest reminiscent of the Patriots’ first Super Bowl victory over the Rams, a 20-17 classic 17  years to the day of yesterday’s victory. New England’s 13 points were the lowest scored by any Super Bowl champion, and the 16 total points were the lowest in the 53-year history of the Super Bowl.

Los Angeles won the opening coin toss and deferred their choice to the 2nd half, electing to put the ball into the hands of the Patriots’ offense to open the game. That decision appeared to be a stroke of genius after intercepting Patriots’ Quarterback Tom Brady on his first pass of the game, but the Rams’ offense was unable to capitalize on the turnover.

While the Rams struggled on offense and punted the ball away on their first eight drives, New England’s offense didn’t fare much better early on. Their first two drives ended in the interception and a issued 46 yard field goal off the foot of Stephen Gostkowski, but Gostkowski came back on the team’s next drive and nailed a 42 yard try to give the Patriots a 3-0 lead after 4:31 of play in the second quarter.

The Patriots would end up taking that three point lead into the locker room as both teams headed off the field as Maroon 5, Travis Scott, and “Big Boi” starred in the this year’s edition of the most watched concert on television.

Once the halftime festivities ended, the Patriots and Rams returned to the field to kick off the second half. After the teams traded four punts, one of which landed 65 yards off the foot of Rams’ punter Johnny Hekker to break a Super Bowl record, Los Angeles managed to generate some momentum on offense. Quarterback Jared Goff and the Rams’ offense moved the ball into Patriots’ territory before settling for a 53 yard field goal to knot the score at 3-3 with 2:11 left in the third quarter.

After the teams exchanged two more punts, Tom Brady took the ball on his own 31 yard line and embarked on the sixth Super Bowl-winning drive of his storied career. Brady completed all four passes he attempted for 67 yards, including a critical 29 yard completion on a 2nd and 3 to set up a goal-to-go scenario from the Rams’ 2 yard line.

Running Back Sony Michel punched the ball in on the next play to give New England a 10-3 lead with 7:00 remaining in the game. As the Rams attempted to mount a comeback on their next drive, Cornerback Stephon Gilmore picked off Goff’s pass intended for Wide Receiver Brandin Cooks at New England’s 4 yard line.

“It was probably one of the easiest picks I’ve had all year…It’s a great feeling” said Gilmore at the podium for his post-game media availability, who also forced a fumble earlier in the 4th quarter. “I couldn’t have done it without the pressure on the quarterback. It goes hand in hand, it’s not just me.”

With a chance to end any hopes of a miracle comeback for Los Angeles, the Patriots ran the ball eight consecutive plays to take over three minutes off the clock and force the Rams to use their final two timeouts. The drive set up a 41 yard boot off the foot of Gostkowski to give his team a two possession lead with 72 seconds remaining. A last gasp effort from the Rams came up short, as Greg Zuerlein’s 48 yard field goal attempt went wide right with 5 seconds remaining, and New England took a knee to close the book on another chapter of their dynasty.

New England ran the football with authority throughout the night, as five players split touches to the tune of 156 yards on 30 total carries. Wide Receiver Julian Edelman was named Super Bowl MVP, marking the first time in a decade a receiver earned that honor. Edelman’s ten receptions for 141 yards accounted for nearly half of Brady’s 21 completions, and over half his 262 passing yards on the day. In spite of being named the most valuable player, one Rams defender believed that his unit did a good job taking Edelman out of the game.”In my opinion, just thinking back, we eliminated him, even though he got yardages,” said Rams’ Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh at his post-game interview.

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Los Angeles averaged less than 3.5 yards per carry, as three players combined for 62 yards on 18 touches. Jared Goff favored WR Brandin Cooks as much as Brady favored Edelman, as Cooks’ 120 receiving yards accounted for over half of Goff’s 229 passing yards. The three points scored by the Rams were tied for the lowest amount in Super Bowl history, joining the Miami Dolphins’ abysmal performance in Super Bowl VI. The Rams’ abysmal offensive performance, combined with the overall defensive nature of the game, made it the most boring Super Bowl in recent memory to some. “This is the only Super Bowl I can remember without a ‘signature play’ that people will talk about”, said Mike F., a season ticket-holding Pittsburgh Steelers fan of over 20 years.

Tom Brady became the first player in NFL history to win six Super Bowl championships, and Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick became the first coach to win six titles. The Patriots’ franchise joined the Pittsburgh Steelers as the only franchises with six Super Bowl titles. Just as they did 17 years ago, the Patriots put a bow on the NFL season with a thrilling victory over the Rams on the game’s biggest stage.

 

HOW DO WE FEEL….ABOUT BEING SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS!?!?! pic.twitter.com/WTOQVuQ6Lq

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) February 4, 2019