Super Bowl 53: 53 Things you need to know about Patriots vs. Rams

We’ve finally arrived at Super Bowl 53, pitting the New England Patriots against the Los Angeles Rams. We’ve got all the fun facts you could want.

The time has come — on Sunday in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the 2018-19 NFL season will come to a close as the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams meet in Super Bowl LIII. The two No. 2 seeds from their respective conferences will clash to decide the champion of the league in a wild season.

In terms of the matchup itself, plenty has already been said about these two teams. However, there’s never too much trivia or too many facts to learn about a matchup of this magnitude. That’s where we come in.

From every angle you can imagine, let’s look at 53 facts regarding Super Bowl LIII.

1. Of the eight previous Super Bowl appearances by the Patriots, three of their five wins have come in games played in odd years. All three of their losses came in even years. The current year is 2019.

2. Either C.J. Anderson or LeGarrette Blount have taken part in each of the past five Super Bowls and Sunday will make the sixth-straight. They have also been on the winning team in each of the past four.

3. Unsurprisingly, the Georgia Bulldogs are tied for the most representatives playing in Atlanta on Sunday with four players, two on each team.

4. Surprisingly, the college Georgia is tied with for representatives is the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, three on the Patriots and one on the Rams.

5. Super Bowl LIII is a rematch of Super Bowl XXXVI, though the Rams were in St. Louis at that time 17 years ago.

6. In the first meeting in the Big Game between these two teams, the Patriots were 14-point underdogs. They are 2.5-point favorites in LIII.

7. Just in case anyone is interested in getting exercise at the Big Game, 32.77 laps around Mercedes-Benz Stadium would be the equivalent of a full marathon.

8. Tom Brady has a better chance of making the Super Bowl (52.9 percent, nine times in 17 healthy seasons) as Nathan Peterman does of completing a pass (52.3 percent).

9. You can bet on the number of plays that Tony Romo will correctly predict on the CBS broadcast. The Over/Under line is 7.5.

10. Maroon 5, Travis Scott and Big Boi will comprise the halftime show, but did you know that halftime performers are not paid? It’s true.

11. New England can tie the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Super Bowl victories (6) with a win on Sunday.

12. A win would also push the Patriots past the Steelers for the record of most playoff wins in NFL history (36).

13. This is the Rams’ fourth super Bowl appearance in franchise history, but they are just 1-2 in the Big Game, their win coming behind Kurt Warner in 1999.

14. Rams HEAD COACH Sean McVay and Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman actually played against one another in college, McVay for Miami University, Edelman for Kent State.

15. Speaking of McVay, he would become the youngest coach in NFL history to win the Super Bowl (33 years old). Mike Tomlin of the Steelers currently holds the record (36).

16. In the same vein, Bill Belichick would become the oldest coach (66) to win the Super Bowl, surpassing Tom Coughlin, who was 65 when his New York Giants, coincidentally, beat the Pats in Super Bowl XLVI.

17. Despite their overall success, New England has not scored a touchdown in the first quarter of a Big Game under Bill Belichick.

18. The Patriots will wear their traditional white uniforms, while the Rams will wear their iconic blue and yellow throwbacks.

19. Going back to the point-spread, the Rams were underdogs just once in the 2018 season and the playoffs. They beat the Saints in that game.

20. Since officiating has been a big issue in these playoffs, John Parry is the head referee for Super Bowl LIII. New England is 9-5 when Parry officiates, while Los Angeles is 7-0.

21. Bill Belichick is roughly 33 years older (12,336 days, to be exact) than Sean McVay, the largest age difference between opposing head coaches in the history of the game.

22. Similarly, the 6,281-day age gap between Tom Brady (41) and Jared Goff (24) is the largest age gap between opposing quarterbacks in Super Bowl history. Peyton Manning vs. Cam Newton (4,796 days) was previously the largest gap.

23. The team that has won the coin toss has lost the Super Bowl the last four years. The Patriots are 3-7 all time in coin tosses.

24. For Super Bowl LIII, the average 30-second commercial for the Big Game this year costs over $5 million.

25. While the Rams are 1-2 in franchise history when it comes to Super Bowls, their one victory happened to come in Atlanta, though that was in the Georgia Dome.

26. Last year, 103.4 million viewers tuned in to watch the Super Bowl, down almost eight million viewers from the previous year. We’ll see where that figure lands this year.

27. 36 players on the New England Patriots roster have played in the Super Bowl previously.

28. On the contrary, only four players on the Los Angeles Rams roster have any experience in the Big Game.

29. LA wide receiver Brandin Cooks was a member of the Pats last season and caught a pass in their Super Bowl loss, but was injured on the first-quarter play and missed the rest of the contest.

30. In all eight instances of the Pats playing in the Big Game in the Brady/Belichick era, every game has been decided by eight points or fewer.

31. This one is obvious, but worth mentioning — in Super Bowl LI, the Pats broke the spirit of Atlanta as they erased a 25-point deficit to win the Big Game over the Falcons.

32. Tom Brady can tie the record for most Super Bowl losses by a quarterback with four should New England lose. Jim Kelly currently holds the record with four.

33. On the positive side, a win for Brady would make him the winningest single player in the history of the Big Game, surpassing Charles Haley.

34. Aaron Donald’s 20.5 sacks on the 2018 season led the NFL, but he is just the second player to record 20+ sacks and play in the Big Game. Lawrence Taylor was the first to accomplish the feat.

35. Atlanta will be hosting the Super Bowl for the third time ever, and the NFC team has been victorious in the previous two.

36. Patriots defensive backs Devin and Jason McCourty are only the second pair of brothers to play on the same team in a Super Bowl, though they are the first set of twins.

37. However, the McCourtys are the 30th set of brothers to actually reach the Big Game.

38. Jared Goff is the fourth No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft to lead the team that drafted them to the Super Bowl. However, he’s the first to do it within his first three NFL seasons.

39. Super Bowl LIII will feature two of the top-five scoring offenses from the 2018 NFL season. The Rams ranked second while the Patriots ranked fourth.

40. The Over/Under for points in the game is set at 58.

41. The Patriots are 5-2 all time when facing teams with an animal as their nickname/mascot.

42. Tom Brady has won Super Bowl MVP in four of his five victories in the Big Game with the Patriots. The winner in the other was Deion Branch in XXXIX.

43. Julian Edelman is second all time in postseason receptions. However, he’s not even close to being first, still trailing Jerry Rice by 46 catches.

44. The Super Bowl uses Roman Numerals to avoid confusion with the years that they are played (in addition to avoiding confusion from previous NFL Championship Games. For instance, the 2019 game will crown the champion of the 2018 season. Thus, it is LIII.

45. LA and New England have only faced one another 13 times in franchise histories. The Patriots have the 8-5 advantage in those matchups.

46. Both Tom Brady and Jared Goff are from the Bay Area near San Francisco.

47. Only two players on the Pats roster have played in their last five Super Bowls, Tom Brady, of course, and kicker Stephen Gostkowski.

48. The average price of a ticket to the Big Game is around $7,000.

49. Every player on the winning team for Super Bowl LIII will receive $118,000, while every player on the losing side gets $59,000.

50. An estimated 3.6 million kilograms of guacamole will be eaten in the United States on Sunday.

51. Furthermore, approximately 1.3 billion chicken wings will be served on Sunday for the Big Game.

52. Famed jeweler Tiffany & Co. made the Vince Lombardi Trophy that is handed out to the winner.

53. Sunday’s game will kick off at 6:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on CBS.

That’s all the facts that we have for you. Sit back and enjoy Super Bowl LIII as the future of the NFL in the Rams take on the long-lasting dynasty of the Patriots.