New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady celebrates Sony Michel’s second-half touchdown run against the Los Angeles Rams during Super Bowl LIII on Sunday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Los Angeles Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein tracks the flight of the ball on the field goal he made against the New England Patriots during the third quarter of Super Bowl LIII on Sunday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.ATLANTA – Defense and special teams dominated what was expected to be a super shootout until New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady directed another classic touchdown drive, leading the franchise to a record-tying sixth Super Bowl title.
Brady threw two perfect passes to tight end Rob Gronkowski to set up rookie running back Sony Michel’s 2-yard score – the only touchdown in the lowest-scoring Super Bowl ever – and Stephen Gostkowski’s second field goal of the night essentially put away a 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“Finally got a touchdown,” Brady said, “and the defense played the best game of the year.”
In a season when all sorts of offensive marks were set, this matchup rewrote the defensive record book.
“How about our defense? How about our defense?” he said. “They played unbelievable.”
So well that their leader linebacker Dont’a Hightower, joked they had extra incentive.
“I’m tired of hearing about Brady,” he said with a laugh. “I won one today — we all got one. It feels good for us to get it all. Shout out to him getting his, but this is a team game and it feels good to win.”
No Super Bowl had gone into the fourth quarter OVERSET FOLLOWS:without a touchdown. This one did, tied 3-3 – even though these teams had combined to average more than 60 points a game.
When the Patriots needed a score, Brady, the oldest winning quarterback in a Super Bowl at age 41, completed four straight passes, including the pair covering 47 yards to Gronkowski. The second, on which the star tight end beat two defenders, ended at the Los Angeles 2, the only time either team was inside the 20-yard line. Michel, a former University of Georgia star playing just a 1 1/2-hour drive from his old stomping grounds, ran off left tackle for his sixth postseason touchdown.
“He knows to trust in me and throw that ball,” Gronkowski said, “and I’m going to grab it.”
With 4:17 left, All-Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore picked off an ill-advised pass by Rams quarterback Jared Goff, who seemed overwhelmed by the big stage all night, at the New England 2. Gostkowski made a 41-yard field goal with 1:12 remaining, completing a 72-yard march that took more than three minutes off the clock and included 26-yard runs by Michel and Rex Burkhead.
It was a workmanlike conclusion for the Patriots (14-5), whose losses this season all came away from New England. In the postseason, they beat the top two offenses of 2018, dispatching the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game before bringing the Rams (15-4) to earth, and tied the Pittsburgh Steelers for most Super Bowl titles. All of New England’s crowns have been won with Brady as quarterback and Bill Belichick as coach. At 66, he became the oldest winning Super Bowl coach.
The Patriots were terrific all game on defense, tying the record for fewest points allowed in a Super Bowl. The Dallas Cowboys beat the Miami Dolphins 24-3 at Super Bowl VI in January 1972.
“We’re a relentless team,” Hightower said. “We didn’t give up. A lot was thrown at us. When we play like we did tonight, we can’t be beat.”
The Rams, who reached the Super Bowl with the aid of a major officiating error in their NFC championship overtime victory against the New Orleans Saints, never really threatened to reach the end zone.
“Last time I checked, defense wins championships,” Rams running back C.J. Anderson said.
The Patriots beat the Rams, then representing St. Louis, at Super Bowl XXXVI in February 2002 to begin their dynastic run. They also have beaten the Carolina Panthers and the Philadelphia Eagles – the Patriots are the most recent back-to-back champions after topping those teams in 2004 and ’05 – the Seattle Seahawks in 2015 and the Atlanta Falcons in 2017 in the only overtime in Super Bowl history.
They have lost three Super Bowls, twice to the New York Giants and to Philadelphia a year ago. New England is the first team since the 1972 Dolphins to win a Super Bowl the year after losing one.
How the Patriots accomplished it was atypical. Despite the low combined score, the 10-point margin was their biggest winning a championship.
“This whole year, it was the biggest team win, the biggest team Super Bowl that I’ve ever been a part of,” said Gronkowski, who could be headed for retirement.
Brady, who has won four Super Bowl MVP trophies, wasn’t particularly sharp – except when throwing to Julian Edelman, this game’s MVP. Edelman, who was injured and didn’t play the 2017 season, was the steadiest offensive player on the field, finishing with 10 catches for 141 yards.
“It just matters that we won,” Edelman said. “It was a crazy year. We had a resilient bunch of guys.”
All those suspicions about the Patriots declining this season became moot as the defense made the 24-year-old Goff look awful and turned All-Pro running back Todd Gurley, another former Georgia Bulldogs star, into a nonfactor.
While it was anything but odd to see New England celebrate a championship, the manner it earned this one was startling. The 2 1/2-point favorite Patriots moved the ball well, ran down the clock, but made uncharacteristic gaffes on offense. Goff and the Rams made more.
The Rams’ second-ranked offense managed just 57 total yards in the first half.
On the other side of the ball, Los Angeles was particularly unable to handle the elusive Edelman, who had seven receptions for 93 yards.
Coach Sean McVay, whose Rams never had been blanked in a first half, let out a long, deep sigh just before halftime, recognizing how badly his team was manhandled, even though it trailed just 3-0.
It was the lowest score at halftime since Super Bowl IX, which Pittsburgh led 2-0 over Minnesota.
McVay, the youngest Super Bowl head coach at 33, had no answers as Gurley, coming off a knee injury, managed 35 rushing yards, Goff went 19-for-38 for 229 yards and was sacked four times.
Brandin Cooks, a Patriots receiver last season, did have eight receptions for 120 yards.
“I think we expected to score a lot more points than that,” Goff said. “It sucks that’s the way it worked out, but we’ll use this as a learning experience.”
Said McVay: “They did a great job. I’m disappointed that I didn’t do a better job of adjusting. I know there is a handful of decisions that I’m going to wish that I could have back, for sure.”
Gostkowski’s 46-yard miss wide left in the first quarter was the first unsuccessful field goal at Mercedes-Benz, home of the Atlanta Falcons, by an NFL player all season. The 13-year veteran also missed a field goal and an extra point in last year’s Super Bowl loss to Philadelphia.
But he gave the Patriots a 3-0 lead with a 42-yarder in the second quarter.
The Rams’ Johnny Hekker had a 65-yard punt in the third quarter, the longest in a Super Bowl. It was his eighth punt of the game – with 1 1/2 periods remaining – which the most for Los Angeles in McVay’s two seasons in charge.
Greg Zuerlein tied it with 2:11 left in the third quarter on the first drive on which Los Angeles gained more than one first down. His 53-yard field goal was the second-longest field goal in a Super Bowl.