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The New England Patriots have ground their way to history, beating Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta, to earn a record-equalling sixth NFL title.
- The New England Patriots have won their sixth NFL title, beating the Los Angeles Rams 13-3
- The game was the lowest-scoring in Super Bowl history
- New England quarterback Tom Brady won a record sixth title for a player, while coach Bill Belichick made history with his eighth Super Bowl ring
The teams had played in Super Bowl XXXVI 17 years ago — when the Rams were based in St Louis — with young quarterback Tom Brady leading the Patriots to an upset victory.
This time around, in a game that never reached any great heights, the Patriots dominated the play and could well have won by more.
But in the lowest-scoring Super Bowl of all time, New England got the job done to give Brady his sixth championship, the most of any player in NFL history.
Coach Bill Belichick also made history, winning his eighth Super Bowl ring — six at the Patriots and two as a defensive coach for the New York Giants.
Both sides struggled to get the ball moving early on, with a scoreless first quarter.
Brady and the Patriots had the ball first, and were driving downfield when he threw a pass intended for wide receiver Chris Hogan. But it hit a helmet and bounced up in the air, where it was caught by Rams linebacker Cory Littleton to stop New England's momentum.
Young Los Angeles quarterback Jared Goff found life difficult, missing targets and finding himself under constant pressure.
New England had another chance to score when kicker Stephan Gostkowski attempted a 45-yard field goal, but it never looked likely. Los Angeles had the ball as the first quarter ended, but was again forced to punt, with John Hekker keeping the Rams in the game with his kicks pinning the Patriots back.
Brady was having a field day with wide-received Julian Edelman, hitting him with multiple passes, including a key 25-yard reception that led to the opening score of the day, a 42-yard field goal with 10:33 left in the first half.
As both sides tried their best to kickstart their attacking fortunes, both continued to struggle.
The Patriots looked to be close to field-goal range late in the quarter, but they chose to pass on fourth down and Brady could not find tight end Rob Gronkowski for a turnover on downs.
At half-time, it was still 3-0 to the Patriots.
The half-time show, featuring pop group Maroon 5, rapper Travis Scott and ex-Outkast hip-hop artist Big Boi, mirrored the game itself, providing few surprise moments.
Maroon 5 and frontman Adam Levine cycled through the group's big hits, including She Will Be Loved, Moves Like Jagger, Girls Like You and This Love.
Scott crowd-surfed with fans close to the stage, while Levine stripped to the waist by the end of the half-time concert.
Play remained tight in the second half, with neither side able to bust open the game.
A series of drives finishing in punts was ended when Goff led his team on a 10-play drive — including key passes to Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks for 18 and 15 yards respectively — that led to a 53-yard field goal from Greg Zuerlein to even up the scores late in the third quarter.
The two teams were still tied going into the final quarter, but Brady finally kicked things off on the second drive of the period.
He completed four straight passes, culminating in a great throw to hit Gronkowski inside the Rams' five-yard line. One play later, running back Sony Michel ploughed into the end zone for a touchdown.
The extra point made it 10-3 to New England.
The Rams then drove downfield and Goff got his team into position, but he pushed a bad pass near the end zone which was intercepted by the Patriots secondary to land a heavy blow to the underdogs' chances.
Brady then moved his team, eating up the clock and setting up a field goal to give the Patriots a 10-point lead with 1:16 left.
The Rams needed two scores, but ran out of time, and a missed field goal with five seconds left started the celebrations on the Patriots' touchline.
Edelman finished with 10 catches for 141 yards, and was named the Super Bowl MVP.
Topics: sport, other-sports, american-football, united-states
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