Last night, the New England Patriots emerged victorious in the Super Bowl once again, winning a 13-3 punt fest that might go down as the worst Super Bowl of all time. They won behind extraordinarily good coaching, and a defensive game plan that stymied the high flying Rams offense to a mere 260 yards. Today, we will not only recap the game, but also identify some key plays and unsung heroes that changed the outcome of Super Bowl LIII.
The Patriots did not win behind the arm of Tom Brady for once, but rather their group of scrappy defenders that came together for the best defensive showing in Super Bowl History. Home grown talents, like Devin McCourty and Dont'a Hightower made plays, while under the radar trades for Jason McCourty and Kyle Van Noy paid off immensely. Every aspect of the defense was nearly flawless. The group racked up four sacks, and nearly forced a fumble. The secondary made huge plays, and Stephon Gilmore's pick all but sealed the game.
Jared Goff and the Rams offense could not get anything going. They were shutout in the first half, and punted on every single possession. Goff was given many confusing defensive looks that made him seem like a freshman quarterback in high school. Todd Gurley and CJ Anderson also failed to get yards. The running back tandem was limited to just 57 yards rushing, and Gurley once again played a surprisingly low snap count.
The Rams defense should also get a lot of credit. They held the Patriots offense for nearly all of the game, and Tom Brady was forced to make some very questionable throws, and one of them led to an interception. However, the Rams had no answer for Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman. The quarterback turned wide receiver racked up 10 catches for 141 yards, and seemed to always be wide open.
Key Plays :
1. Jason McCourty breaks up TD pass.
Midway through the third quarter, the Rams looked like they were finally getting some offense going. Down 3-0 with the ball on New England's 30 yard line, speedy wide receiver Brandin Cooks broke away from the Pats secondary, and was wide open in the end zone. Jared Goff threw a high pass, and McCourty ran from the opposite side of the field to knock it out of Cooks' hands. A catch would have made it 7-3, and the game would definitely have been different.
2. Brady finds Rob Gronkowski for a 29 yard completion
This play was vintage Brady-Gronk chemistry. At the Rams 31, Brady lofted a high, arcing pass to Gronkowski that he caught over two defenders at the two yard line. Sony Michel punched the ball in on the next play for the only touchdown of the entire Super Bowl.
3. Duron Harmon/Stephon Gilmore save the day
The Rams had a real shot at tying the game with 4 minutes left. Jared Goff threw a perfect pass to Brandin Cooks, who had beat Stephon Gilmore. Cooks had the ball for a moment, before Harmon hit him so hard that he lost the ball. On the very next play, the Patriots called for an all-out blitz, and dared Goff to throw it. Harmon came sprinting at Goff, who got flustered and threw a weak pass in the area of Cooks. Stephon Gilmore picked it off to seal the win for the Pats.
Unsung Heroes:
1. The entire Patriots offensive line
Despite having to face one of the best pass rushes in the league, the Pats' o-line was unfazed. They almost completely neutralized Aaron Donald and Ndamakung Suh, and only allowed one sack. They also cleared huge holes in the run game for Sony Michel and Rex Burkhead, who each had 26 yard runs on the Patriots game-sealing drive.
2. Matthew Slater/Ryan Allen
If it wasn't for Julian Edelman's performance, Slater had a real chance of winning Super Bowl MVP. Ryan Allen punted the ball 5 times, and Slater downed 3 of those punts inside the ten yard line. If the Rams had received better field position, they would have had a much higher chance of scoring.
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