In what was expected to be an offensive shootout between two of the league’s top offenses, Super Bowl LIII ended up being the lowest scoring Super Bowl in NFL History with the Patriots emerging victorious at 13-3.
The first half did not see a single touchdown as Stephen Gostkowski scored the only points in the half on a 42-yard field goal to give the Patriots an early 3-0 lead. Despite generating some offensive momentum with 195 yards in the first half, the Patriots failed to put the ball in the endzone, as they suffered a missed field goal by Gostkowski earlier in the first half. Tom Brady also threw an interception on his first pass attempt to Chris Hogan that was picked off by Cory Littleton off a Nickell Robey-Coleman deflection. The Rams’ offense was even more silent in the first half as they only managed 27 total yards on offense and just two first downs.
Both offenses showed no signs of a turnaround to start the second half, as both teams were forced to punt in their first two possessions of the half. With 3:40 left, Jared Goff showed signs of life, completing an 18-yard strike to Robert Woods to put the Rams in field goal range, nearly scoring a touchdown on the drive. The Rams ended up settling for a 53-yard field goal by Greg Zuerlein to tie the game at three. The game headed into the final quarter without a single touchdown.
The Patriots offense finally showed promise with a change in their offensive formation to one deep receiver in the fourth quarter which resulted in Brady finally leading the Patriots on a solid drive down the field with several key passes to wide receiver and Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman. This drive was capped off by a two-yard touchdown run by Sony Michel to put the Patriots back in the lead 10-3. The Patriots managed to hold the Rams’ offense in check despite a promising drive led by Rams quarterback Goff that nearly resulted in a touchdown to Brandin Cooks, Stephon Gilmore came up big as he picked off a weak pass from Goff who was under enormous pressure.
The game was looking pretty out of reach for the Rams at this point, and a final Patriots drive finished off by a 41-yard field goal by Gostkowski was enough to seal the deal for the Patriots to win their third Super Bowl in five years and their sixth Super Bowl in franchise history, tying the Pittsburgh Steelers for most Lombardi Trophies. All six of these trophies have come in the 21st century under the helm of Head Coach Bill Belichick and quarterback, Brady, perhaps the greatest Head Coach/quarterback duo in NFL history. This victory happened on the same day against the same team that the Patriots’ first victory happened 17 years ago when the Belichick/Brady Patriots upset the Rams to begin the buildup of the greatest dynasty in NFL history continuing to today.
“I’m pretty proud that we’ve been able to keep him and our quarterback together for 19 years,” said Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Belichick and Brady are expected to remain together, as the 41- year-old has shown no signs of letting up.
