Mark Wiedmer
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick talk during the first half of Super Bowl LIII against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Gladys Knight sings the national anthem before Super Bowl LIII on Sunday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.The 53rd Super Bowl just ended Sunday night, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said of his franchise’s sixth world championship in 18 seasons after a 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams: “Two men have been here from the beginning, and they’re the best that’s ever been in the NFL: Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.”
You can say what you want to about the way the Patriots go about their business. They’ve been found guilty in Spygate and Deflategate and been rumored to have broken at least a couple of double-secret commandments beyond the 10 we all know about.
But you can’t say they aren’t really, really good at this pro football stuff. This wasn’t just their sixth title in nine Super Bowl appearances. This was three of the past five, including that one over the Atlanta Falcons a couple of years back from a 28-3 hole that should have had everyone against them in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where it instead seemed as if all of New England had headed south for the weekend.
Just call it a reigning night in Georgia.
“It’s sweet,” said the normally sour 66-year-old Belichick, who became the oldest coach to win his sport’s grandest prize. “Everyone counted us out, but we’re still here.”