Sixth man Rams offense caught short
Brady, Patriots add another ring after defensive struggle turns on big throw, catch
ATLANTA — In a Super Bowl dominated most of the way by the defenses, Tom Brady and the Patriots eventually turned up enough offense to defeat the Rams 13-3 and ride to their sixth title in 18 years.
It was the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in the 53-year history of the game. Until the Patriots pulled away in the fourth quarter, the teams combined for the Super Bowl’s longest touchdown drought.
Sony Michel scored on a 2-yard run with 7 minutes remaining to give the Patriots a 10-3 lead.
The first Super Bowl without a touchdown through three quarters had been in dire need of a boost. Then Brady completed four consecutive passes to set up Michel’s touchdown plunge. The drive opened with an 18-yard
catch by Rob Gronkowski, who added a 29-yard diving catch at the 2.
Brady also completed passes to Julian Edelman and Rex Burkhead during the drive.
The Patriots padded their lead with a 41-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski that gave the Patriots their 13-3 advantage.
The Patriots worked the clock on a drive covering nine plays and 72 yards, including 26-yard runs by Michel and Burkhead.
Greg Zuerlein kicked a 53yard field goal late in the third quarter to allow the Rams to pull even with the Patriots at 3-3.
The big play of the Rams’ scoring drive was Jared Goff’s 18-yard pass to Robert Woods on a third-and-7 play. The Rams had been stopped on their first eight third-down plays of the game.
The third quarter ended with the 3-3 tie, the first time no touchdowns had been scored through three quarters in Super Bowl history. The previous longest touchdown drought came in the 1989 Super Bowl between the Bengals and 49ers when the first touchdown was scored with 50 seconds remaining in the third quarter. San Francisco won the game 20-16.
New England dominated in time of possession in the first half, holding the football for 19 minutes, 52 seconds, while Los Angeles had it for 10:08. The Patriots also outgained the Rams in total yardage 195-57.
Patriots safety Patrick Chung suffered a right arm injury that knocked him out early in the third quarter.
Chung suffered the injury when his right arm was caught between teammate Jonathan Jones’ helmet and Rams running back Todd Gurley’s helmet on a tackle.
While still on his back, Chung pounded the turf in frustration. His arm was placed in a black air cast. The Patriots announced Chung would not return to the game.