In a season full of big numbers and offensive performances, the New England Patriots defense made a historic statement in stifling the Los Angeles Rams.
This was different. This was not taking the air out of the football for the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs, as was the case in the New England Patriots’ first two postseason games during this run.
Once again, head coach Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels showed that commitment to the run during the course of Super Bowl LIII. But it was the legendary sideline leader and defensive mind Brian Flores that orchestrated a game plan that enable the Patriots to stifle the second-highest scoring team in the league in 2018.
For the third time in five years, the franchise that resides in Foxborough is hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. The Pats managed a 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the lowest-scoring edition of the 53 Super Bowls. For only the second time in Super Bowl history, a team failed to score a touchdown in this game.
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Sean McVay’s club was limited to 260 total yards while third-year quarterback Jared Goff was sacked four times. It was a very thorough performance by the New England defense. And anyone who saw this kind of game coming in advance, here’s a tip of the hat to that.
As has already been mentioned, the 16 combined points were the fewest by two teams in a Super Bowl. The previous record was 21 back in 1972, when the Miami Dolphins held off the Washington Redskins, 14-7. Ironically enough, it was these Patriots, who became the first team since those Dolphins to win a Lombardi Trophy one year after losing the “Big Game.”
But here’s something else to keep in mind in this supposedly new era of “offense win championships.” When it comes to NFL history, titles were decided by best win-loss records from 1920-32. The league finally established a post season in 1933. Be it one game or a series of playoffs have determined the league champion ever since.
So it’s pretty startling when you realize that the only time before Super Bowl LIII that a team scored fewer than 13 points and managed to win an NFL title was way back in 1948. That year, the Philadelphia Eagles bested the Chicago Cardinals, 7-0, in the snow to win the first of back-to-back NFL championships.
It wasn’t a thing of beauty if you’re a fan of the wide-open football that was the story of the first three months of NFL football in 2018. But as usual, the New England Patriots aren’t interested in beauty contests. It’s about execution and they made a little history at the expense of the up-and-coming Rams.