We’re finally here. Five weeks of preseason, 17 weeks of the regular season, three weeks of NFL playoffs and one wasted Sunday at the NFL Pro Bowl have gotten us to this point. The Los Angeles Rams will face off against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIII.
There’s a poetic storyline to this game, regardless of who you’re rooting for. If you like the Patriots, this is possibly the last hurrah for the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick era and it could come at the expense of the team they beat to start it all. For the Rams, this is a chance to avenge a Super Bowl loss that should have never happened, a lost ring for the Greatest Show on Turf and one mired in controversy, some confirmed cheating and cover-ups at the hands of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Related: Super Bowl Betting Guide
Los Angeles Rams vs New England Patriots (-2.5, O/U: 56)
- This will be the 11th Super Bowl appearance for the New England Patriots as a franchise. They are 5-5 in the game.
- This will be the fourth appearance for the Los Angeles Rams, with two coming while the team was in St. Louis. They are 1-2.
- In their five Super Bowl victories, the Patriots have never won by more than six points and that was their overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI.
- This is the first Rams Super Bowl appearance since Super Bowl XXXVI, where they were defeated by the Patriots 20-17.
- This Super Bowl marks the largest age difference between starting quarterbacks (Tom Brady – 41, Jared Goff – 24) and head coaches (Bill Belichick – 66, Sean McVay – 33) in Super Bowl history. The old record belonged to Super Bowl III (Weeb Eubank- 55 – New York Jets, Don Shula – 33 – Baltimore Colts).
There’s a map out there I want to talk about before I get to the pick and it’s important. Take a look.
Twitter map shows which team each state is rooting for in Super Bowl LIII. https://t.co/HutqULF03V pic.twitter.com/VeDFjJNrz4
— theScore (@theScore) January 29, 2019
I get the New England area. I mean, that’s their team. I even get Louisiana rooting for the Patriots and I’ll be writing more about that in a minute. What I do not understand, at all, is Kentucky and West Virginia. What is wrong with the people that live there? You know, besides the obvious. West Virginia is close enough to Pennsylvania that such an act, rooting for the Pats, should be impossible. I’ve met plenty of people from WV and, to a man, woman and child, they’re all Pittsburgh Steelers fans. How could this happen?
As for North and South Carolina? You realize the Panthers are your team right? And one of the teams victimized by New England in the Spygate era? Et tu, Palmetto State? I mean, the North Carolina Tar Heel is a Ram, for God’s sake. This is ridiculous. Alaska? Michigan? North Dakota? This is why you’re being blasted by that Arctic Vortex right now. Karma is hitting you with a -20 windchill factor. Be better people.
And now, Louisiana. I get you’re mad at the referees and you should be. That missed pass interference call was egregious and if the play had been reviewable … well, let’s take a look.
Now, they guy narrating this video says there’s a hold on Michael Brockers. That would be ticky-tack, I think. I’m also not sure about the “tip,” but it’s close. What is undeniable is a hands to the face right in Aaron Donald’s MVP-caliber mug. That means that the penalties would have offset. The best you would have gotten was to replay the down. Get a few more seconds off the clock and maybe make the Rams use their time out. That’s it.
You’ll never get over it and I get it, but it’s not as horrible as you’re making it out to be. And if we start reviewing non-calls, there were two missed facemasks, one on Goff and one on Brandin Cooks that would have both set the Rams up with first and goal at the one yard line. Los Angeles settled for a field goal to tie the game 20-20 after the no-call Goff facemask. With four more tries at the one, New Orleans is probably giving up a touchdown and the entire complexion of the game changes. What I’m saying, don’t root for the evil empire over one missed call. There’s not a universe out there or rule change possible in the NFL that would have given you what you wanted. Everything you’re asking for today would have either just equaled out or actively worked against you.
As for this game, I spelled it out in my 3 reasons article earlier in the week, but pressure in Brady’s face is how to beat him. In his three Super Bowl losses, it’s been consistent. It won’t be easy and the Evil Empire will not go gently into that good night, but karma owes the Rams this one if nothing else. Rams 34, Patriots 27
MVP: Jared Goff
