Patriots and Brady earn 6th Super Bowl in low scoring game but did they play the right opponent?
The New England Patriots tied the Pittsburgh Steelers with the most championships in NFL history with six, beating the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl 53. Patriots were led by five-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady, age 41, while the Rams were led by the 24 year old Jared Goff. It was the largest age gap between starting quarterbacks in Super Bowl history.
John Park, a business major at LA Harbor Community College, said that,“The game was a good defensive battle. The Patriots got more pressure on Goff and made him make crucial mistakes. Not the most exciting game but still good.”
The Rams had a potent offense coming into the game that was steered by running backs Todd Gurley, who was held to just 35 yards rushing, and C.J. Anderson, who had just 22 yards. Wide receiver Brandin Cooks had 120 yards but had two crucial dropped passes that in the end would be massive. Fellow WR Robert Woods was held to just 70 yards on five catches. Their defense, led by Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald who had 20.5 sacks on the year, and Ndamukong Suh, was for the most part good at containing Brady. Although they couldn’t come up with the stop down the stretch when they needed it.
(Associated Press)
Olivia Gainer, a Philosophy major at HSU, said that, “I personally don’t like the NFL based on the statistics of bodily & mental harm to the players as the foundation to the game. But, it was a really uneventful Super Bowl, not worth what the players put their body through for the incentive of profit.”
Patriots’ offense was star studded with running back Sony Michel who had 94 yards rushing and the only touchdown in the whole Super Bowl. Along with tight end Rob Gronkowski who made the biggest catches of the game down the stretch as he had 87 yards receiving. The MVP of the Super Bowl was receiver Julien Edelman who posted 141 yards on 10 catches, he was unstoppable from the slot position making big catch after big catch for Brady.
Patriots’ defense was a great group that contained Goff and the Rams, led by linebacker Donta Hightower, who posted two huge sacks, along with corner-back Stephon Gilmore, who made the biggest defensive play of the day with the interception on Goff with four minutes left. The whole night the Patriots’ defense shut down Goff and the offense, making stop after stop on third down, giving Brady and the Patriots their sixth Super Bowl.
