Patriots’ defense pressures Goff, shuts down Rams’ offense
ATLANTA — For most of the season the New England Patriots have been creatures of habit on defense, sticking to their principles and making just enough plays to win.
They were much more than that Sunday night against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Patriots battered and bewildered quarterback Jared Goff and the Rams, stifling the NFL’S second-ranked scoring offense en route to a 13-3 Super Bowl victory.
New England quarterback Tom Brady said the Patriots’ defense set the tone.
“They played unbelievable,” Brady said. “Challenged all these plays . .... They held them.”
When Goff began to find his groove late in the fourth quarter and the Rams trailing 10-3, Los Angeles drove inside New England’s 30-yard line for just the second time in the game.
The momentum proved to be short-lived.
Enter safety Duron Harmon.
Playing in place of Patrick Chung, who suffered an arm injury in third quarter, Harmon combined with cornerback Stephon Gilmore to break up what would have been a touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks in the end zone. Then, on the next play, Harmon pressured Goff on a blitz and forced him into a throw into coverage that was intercepted by Gilmore.
“It was clutch,” Gilmore said of his interception. “I knew he was going to force it up there. Our defensive line put a lot of pressure on him and he chucked it up there and I was able to make a play.”
New England’s offense took it from there, sealing the victory with a nine-play, 72-yard drive that ate up 3:05 and ended with a 41-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski.
The Patriots’ defense gave Goff different looks all night and many of them seemed to confuse him. They routinely sent an extra deep safety on third-and-short situations and disguised their blitzes up the middle. The latter benefited linebacker Dont’a Hightower, who dropped Goff for a pair of sacks to stunt drives.
New England had four sacks in the game.
It added up to an abysmal performance by the Rams on third-down situations. They were 0 for 6 on third down in the first half and 3 of 13 for game. New England also held Los Angeles to just 260 total yards.
None of the Rams’ running backs were able to get much traction, either.
Los Angeles, which entered the game averaging 175 rushing yards per game during the playoffs with four touchdowns, mustered just 3.4 yards per rush on third down. All-pro Todd Gurley finished with 10 rushes for 35 yards. C.J. Anderson, who had 167 yards and two touchdowns through two playoff games, had seven carries for 22 yards.
New England bailed Goff out early in the fourth quarter when Gilmore was called for defensive holding on Goff’s third-and-11 pass attempt, giving the Rams a fresh set of downs.
But the Patriots recovered and used a sack by Jonathan Jones, a holding penalty and tackle for loss on Gurley to force a punt.
In the AFC championship game the Patriots held the Kansas City Chiefs, the NFL’S topscoring offense during the regular season, scoreless in the first half.
Fan with laser will face charges
A fan who pointed a laser at Brady during the AFC championship game will face charges and has been banned from Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium for life, ESPN reported.
Officials used videotape and eyewitnesses to locate the person who aimed the light at Brady, after KMBC-TV’S William Joy aired footage of a green dot zeroing in on Brady’s face and shoulders. The incident occurred late in the game, won in overtime by the Patriots. ESPN’S Adam Schefter cited sources who said that Jackson County prosecutors would charge the fan soon, however spokesman for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office told KMBC that no charges had been filed as of Sunday.
Lasers are prohibited at NFL games and can damage retinas. Because of that, a Chiefs source told Schefter that the team was pushing for “the harshest penalty possible” rather than just disorderly conduct.