SIXTH SUPER BOWL CROWN
PATRIOTS, AGING BRADY WIN CLASH OF THE GENERATIONS
The New England Patriots claimed the Lombardi Trophy for a recordtying sixth time, defeating the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in a Super Bowl LIII slugfest Sunday in Atlanta.
A clash of generations at quarterback and head coach, this was billed as a battle between 41-year-old Tom Brady and 66-year-old Bill Belichick of New England and 24-year-old Jared Goff and 33-year-old Sean McVay of Los Angeles.
Instead it was the placekickers, punters and the defensive play-callers, Wade Phillips of the Rams and Brian Flores of the Patriots, who controlled much of the action – or lack thereof. It was the first Super Bowl without a touchdown by either team through three quarters, and the lowest-scoring Super Bowl (3-3) entering the fourth. It finished as the lowest-scoring Super Bowl of all-time, fewer than Super Bowl VII (21 points).
“It’s sweet,” Belichick said while accepting the Lombardi Trophy. “Everybody counted us out, from the beginning of the season to midseason, but we’re still here.”
Brady being Brady, he came through when it mattered and helped the Patriots match the Pittsburgh Steelers with six Super Bowl rings.
Taking over at their own 31 after the Rams’ ninth punt, the Patriots marched 69 yards in five plays to score the game’s only touchdown and take a 10-3 lead with seven minutes to play. Brady was 4-for-4 for 67 yards on the drive, including a 29-yarder to Rob Gronkowski to set up Sony Michel’s 2-yard touchdown run. It was the rookie’s sixth TD of the postseason.
The Rams roared right back, driving to the New England 27 in five plays. On the sixth play, Stephon Gilmore and Duron Harmon broke up a potential touchdown catch by Brandin Cooks. On the seventh play, Gilmore picked off an errant throw to Cooks with 4:17 left as Goff tried to avoid a Patriots blitz.
“To be honest, I couldn’t believe he threw it,” Gilmore told reporters afterward of the play.
Capping a nine-play, 72-yard drive, Stephen Gostkowski then iced the game for the Patriots with his second field goal. His 41-yarder stretched the lead to 10 with 1:12 remaining.
Brady completed 21 of 35 passes for 262 yards and one interception. Julian Edelman caught 10 passes for 141 yards to claim Super Bowl MVP honors, and Michel rushed 18 times for 94 yards.
“It was an unbelievable year,” Brady told CBS on the field after the game. “We just fought through it more so than anything. It’s unbelievable to win this game . ... We’ve been this far and lost, which is really tough. I wish we had played a little better on offense, but we won and it’s unbelievable.
“... I’m so happy for my teammates. This is a dream come true for all of us.”
Goff finished 19 of 38 for 229 yards and the one pick. Cooks had eight grabs for 120 yards.
“It kills,” Goff said of the loss, calling it the toughest of his life. “It hurts . ... It hurts me knowing how well our defense played, against that team, against Tom, and us not holding up our end of the bargain. It’s our job to score points and we didn’t do that tonight.” McVay put plenty of blame on himself. “I’m pretty numb right now,” he told reporters. “Definitely I got out-coached, and I didn’t do nearly enough for our football team.”