New England Patriots vs. Los Angeles Rams
This game is a rematch of Super Bowl XXXVI, when the
Patriots stunned the overwhelmingly favored then-St. Louis Rams, 20-17. The
Rams previously won Super Bowl XXXIV over the Tennessee Titans in 2000, while
the Patriots finally return to the Super Bowl for the third time in three
years.
This is probably the least excited I’ve been for a Super
Bowl in years.
How the Patriots
reached the Super Bowl
After the Patriots suffered a heartbreaking loss last year
in Super Bowl LII against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Patriots finished this
year’s regular season with an 11-5 record, every loss occurring on the road. The
Patriots demolished the Los Angeles Chargers 41-28 in the Divisional round
before resurrecting the Arrowhead Curse in a 37-31 overtime AFC Championship
victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. The Patriots finally snapped their
decade-long road playoff game losing streak.
How the Patriots can
win the Super Bowl
The Patriots O-line never broke against the Chargers and the
Chiefs. A repeat performance against the Rams and Tom Brady won’t even break a
sweat. If the Patriots can punch through the Rams’ O-line and neutralize Jared
Goff, Tom Brady will secure his sixth ring before the halftime show. No room
for costly interceptions and turnovers, however; those mistakes nearly doomed
the Patriots in the AFC Championship game. The Patriots need a perfect
performance through all sixty minutes to win Super Bowl LIII and give Tom Brady his sixth ring.
How the Rams reached
the Super Bowl
The Rams finished second in the NFC with a 13-3 record, first
defeating the Dallas Cowboys 30-22 before defeating the New Orleans Saints
26-23 in overtime after the Rams were bailed out by the referees late in the
game. Had the referees called that pass interference penalty, we’d be looking
at an exciting showdown between the New Orleans Saints and the New England
Patriots, Drew Brees vs. Tom Brady, a clash of the titans. But no, instead we
get “team that’s been here a million times before” vs. “team that only got here
thanks to an abysmal non-call.”
How the Rams can win
the Super Bowl
The Rams defense may hold the key to breaking through the
Patriots O-line: Aaron Donald. As seen in Super Bowl LII, the only time Brady
was sacked was the moment the Patriots were doomed to defeat. Neutralize Brady
and the Patriots run the risk of losing back-to-back Super Bowls, not seen
since the quadruple fail train that was the Buffalo Bills in the 1990s. The
Rams have the best offense in the NFC, but it’s small comfort when the Patriots
already toppled the best offense in the league, the Kansas City Chiefs. Jared
Goff will need to deliver a perfect effort and receive help from the ground
attack if the Rams are to overcome the Patriots and win Super Bowl LIII.
Final prediction
The Super Bowls over the past several years each have had a
defining moment. We’ve had a power outage (XLVII), a safety twelve seconds in
that kicked off a lopsided game (XLVIII), a stupefying decision to pass on the
one yard line when you have Marshawn Lynch on your team (XLIX), an unstoppable
juggernaut crumbling in the big game (50), an overtime battle after it was 28-3
(LI), and a cataclysmic strip sack turnover late in the fourth quarter to seal the
game (LII).
Super Bowl LIII will have its own defining moment. Brady and
Goff will fight to a 31-31 tie late in the fourth quarter. The Rams will seem
poised to seal the game with a late drive.
Until Goff throws a pick six and the Patriots seal the win
with a defensive touchdown.
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