Brady, Belichick capture Patriots’ sixth championship in low-scoring affair
The New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams, 13-3, in Super Bowl LIII last Sunday to win their sixth in franchise history.
All of the Patriots’ championships have been won in the Brady-Belichick era.
Wide receiver Julian Edelman was named Super Bowl MVP after 10 receptions for 141 yards.
Patriots running back Sony Michel scored the game’s lone touchdown in the 13-3 win over the Rams. Here are a few takeaways from the game.
1. If you don’t appreciate the Pats as the greatest dynasty in sports, you need to. Yes, their fans are insufferable, but that is only because their team has been so dominant for the better part of the last 20 years.
2. Sean McVay and the Rams’ staff were outcoached by Bill Belichick and the Patriots’ staff. The Rams offense, which was fast paced all season long, was virtually nonexistent on Sunday. Todd Gurley, arguably the best running back in the league, had only three touches in the first half. Jared Goff did not have a pocket to work with and was sacked four times.
3. The NFL is trending in the direction of finding Sean McVay-like coaches. Every team wants to find the next 33-year-old head coach to things around. McVay set a trend for other teams to find the next offensive-minded coach. For example, the Arizona Cardinals hired Kliff Kingsbury and the Cincinnati Bengals hired Zac Taylor — the 35-year-old Rams’ quarterbacks coach — as their new head coaches for the upcoming season. Though McVay and his staff turned the Rams franchise around, they were no match for the experienced Patriots.
4. Though it was not Tom Brady’s best game, it still serves as a reminder that he is one of, if not the, greatest quarterbacks of all time. Whether I like him or not, I have come to respect his greatness. The league has been trending in the direction of an offense-first mentality during the last couple of years, and we saw the reverberations of that this season.
Who could forget the Monday Night showdown in November when the Rams beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 54-51?
However, for all that was written about this league putting defense on the backburner, it was the defense that stepped up on Sunday, especially New England’s.
Despite the matchup of the No. 2 and No. 4 overall offenses in the NFL meeting at the Super Bowl, the teams combined for exactly three points in the first half. Neither team had a single snap in the other’s red zone the entire half.
Anyway, Boston threw its 12th championship parade in the last 17 years in light of the Patriots’ most recent triumph.
By: Michael Rauber | Staff Writer