The New England Patriots stand on top of the league once more as the Pats have won Super Bowl 53.
With this victory, the Patriots franchise is now tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for most Super Bowl wins at six. Tom Brady has further solidified his claim to be the greatest quarterback to ever play the game, as he himself has been at the helm for New England’s six Super Bowls.
Wide receiver Julian Edelman was given the honor of Super Bowl MVP.
While both of these teams were arguably the best in their respective conference, the Patriots dominated the Rams 13-3. All of the offense came from three field goals and one touchdown, with the only score in the game before halftime being a field goal from Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski.
This year’s Super Bowl has received a lot of negative attention because of the lack of scoring. However, I, for one, can enjoy a good defensive game. Both the Rams’ and Patriots’ deserve a lot of credit for putting on a great defensive showing. Football games don’t need touchdowns being scored every other minute to be enjoyable; there are two sides of the game to enjoy.
Admittedly, I ragged on New England’s defense a good bit this year, but I have to give credit to the team for turning it around and coming out on top. If anything, this game is a testament to the Patriots’ never-say-die attitude. Never give up on the Patriots as long as Brady and Bill Belichek are still on the team.
As for Los Angeles, the Rams looked like they were out of their league. The defense did their job just fine, only allowing two field goals and a late touchdown. The blame for this loss has to fall on the whole team, but the offense didn’t produce anything.
The Rams only managed to muster 260 yards and 14 first downs. Quarterback Jared Goff and running back Todd Gurley were neutralized all night. Gurley, who was still nursing a knee injury, went a second straight game without decent offensive production.
Goff managed to finally start moving his team down the field effectively late in the game. However, a late-game interception by Patriots’ cornerback Stephen Gilmore sealed the Rams’ fate.
And just like that, the Patriots were crowned champions.
Both of these teams will likely still be elite going into next season. Brady isn’t planning on retiring and neither is Belichick. The Patriots will still play in the horrid AFC East with mediocre teams like the Jets, Bills and Dolphins. I see no reason for them not to win another AFC East title.
The Rams look to still have a strong grip on the NFC West.
The Seahawks are still manned by quarterback Russell Wilson and head coach Pete Carrol, and they should still contend for either a division title or wild-card spot.
The 49ers were pretty bad, but they also didn’t have a good starting quarterback as Jimmy Garoppolo was injured nearly the whole season.
The Cardinals were downright putrid, but will likely grab a strong prospect in the draft. I don’t see Arizona being as bad next season, but they’ll probably still be sub .500.
Though not the flashiest of Super Bowls, the 2018 NFL season was one to remember; this time for good reasons. After everything has been said and done, I can’t wait to cover the 2019 season. There will still be more NFL stories coming through the pipeline leading up to the draft, so make sure you stay tuned.
