Super Bowl LIII, 2019: New England 13 Los Angeles Rams 3

Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams, 13–3. The game was played on February 3, 2019, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and was the first Super Bowl played at the stadium.

The Patriots' victory was their sixth, tying the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Super Bowl championships. New England, after finishing the regular season with an 11–5 record, advanced to their 11th Super Bowl appearance, their third in a row, and their ninth under the leadership of head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. The Rams finished the regular season with a 13–3 record under head coach Sean McVay, the youngest head coach in the Super Bowl at 33, as they advanced to their fourth Super Bowl appearance and their first since relocating back from St. Louis to Los Angeles in 2016. Super Bowl LIII was a rematch of 2001's Super Bowl XXXVI, the first championship won by Belichick and Brady and the beginning of the Patriots dynasty. It was the 14th meeting in a major sports championship between the Greater Los Angeles and Greater Boston areas and the first championship between the two regions in the NFL. The game also marked the first Super Bowl appearance of a Los Angeles-based team since the Los Angeles Raiders appeared in 1983's Super Bowl XVIII and the Rams' first as a Los Angeles team since 1979's Super Bowl XIV.

Super Bowl LIII was the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in NFL history. The game marked the first Super Bowl in which neither team had a touchdown through the first three quarters, as the Patriots and the Rams fought to a 3–3 tie entering the fourth. In the final quarter, New England scored 10 unanswered points to claim victory, including the game's only touchdown by running back Sony Michel. The Patriots' one touchdown tied them with the New York Jets in Super Bowl III for the fewest by a winning Super Bowl team, while the Rams became the second Super Bowl team to not score a touchdown after the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI. Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, who caught 10 passes for 141 yards, was named Super Bowl MVP. Brady and Belichick became the oldest starting quarterback and head coach to win the Super Bowl at 41 and 66, respectively, and Brady was also the first starting quarterback to win the Super Bowl in his 40s. It marked the final Super Bowl of the Patriots dynasty, as Brady departed New England after the 2019 season.

The broadcast of the game on CBS, along with the halftime show headlined by U.S. pop group Maroon 5, saw the smallest Super Bowl audience in 10 years. Due to its low-scoring nature and both teams' offensive struggles, the game has been regarded as one of the worst Super Bowls, although the defensive performances of both teams are considered among the greatest.

Game summary
First half
The Patriots received first possession as Cordarrelle Patterson returned the opening kickoff 38 yards to the Patriots' 39-yard line and the team picked up 27 yards with their next five plays. But on Tom Brady's first pass attempt of the day, Nickell Robey-Coleman, who was notable for a non-call on pass interference in the NFC Championship two weeks earlier, deflected the ball, allowing linebacker Cory Littleton to make an interception. The turnover had no avail, and following a punt, the Patriots drove 45 yards in 11 plays, the longest a 19-yard catch by tight end Rob Gronkowski. Placekicker Stephen Gostkowski missed a field goal attempt from 46 yards, still keeping the score at zero. The Rams were again unable to move the ball and again, the Patriots threatened to score when Brady completed a 25-yard pass to Julian Edelman at the Rams 45-yard line. But on the next play, Brady was sacked by defensive end John Franklin-Myers and fumbled the ball. Center David Andrews recovered the fumble, but the team was only able to get as far as the Rams' 40 before 4th down and had to punt with 18 seconds left in the first quarter.

After forcing another three-and-out, the Patriots managed to drive 39 yards in seven plays, most of which came from another 25-yard completion from Brady to Edelman. Gostkowski finished the possession with a 42-yard field goal, giving the team a 3–0 lead with 10:29 left in the second quarter. After the next three drives ended in punts, the Patriots took the ball and drove 36 yards to the Rams 32-yard line. But on a 4th-and-1 conversion attempt, Brady threw an incomplete pass with 1:16 left on the clock.

The two teams went into their locker rooms with the Patriots leading, 3–0, the second lowest halftime score in Super Bowl history and the lowest since the 2–0 halftime score in Super Bowl IX after the 1974 season. In the entire first half, the Rams had gained just 57 yards and two first downs, both record lows for coach Sean McVay. This was also the first time that McVay's Rams had ever been shut out in a first half.

Second half
The defensive battle continued into the second half as both teams punted twice (one of them was a Super Bowl record 65-yard punt by the Rams' Johnny Hekker). With 6:33 left in the third quarter, the Rams opened their first drive of more than five plays and their first not to end in a punt, moving the ball 42 yards in 10 plays. On the third play of the drive, Jared Goff completed a 15-yard pass to Brandin Cooks and later made his first third-down conversion with an 18-yard pass to Robert Woods on 3rd-and-6. On 3rd-and-7 from the Patriots' 26-yard line, Goff was sacked for a 9-yard loss by Dont'a Hightower, but Greg Zuerlein was able to pull off a 53-yard field goal, the second-longest in Super Bowl history, to tie the game at 3–3 with 2:11 left in the third quarter. It would be their only score. The Patriots took the ball back and drove to the Rams' 44-yard line, but could not go any further and had to punt on the first play of the fourth quarter. For the first time in Super Bowl history, both teams had gone three quarters without scoring a touchdown.

After forcing the Rams to punt, the Patriots mounted the longest drive of the game as Brady completed an 18-yard pass to Gronkowski, a 13-yard pass to Edelman, a 7-yard pass to running back Rex Burkhead and a 29-yard pass to Gronkowski, bringing them to the Rams' 2-yard line. On the next play, Sony Michel gave the Patriots the lead with a touchdown run, extending his rookie postseason rushing touchdown record to six. With the extra point by Gostkowski, the Patriots had a 10–3 lead with seven minutes left in regulation. On the first play of the Rams' next drive, Goff completed a 19-yard pass to Cooks and later converted a 3rd-and-9 with an 11-yard throw to Josh Reynolds. On the next play, his 17-yard completion to Woods moved the ball to the Patriots' 27-yard line. But with just over 4 minutes left in the game, Goff threw a pass that was intercepted by Stephon Gilmore on the 3-yard line.

The Rams needed to force a punt or turnover, however were unable to contain the Patriots on the ground. On the second play of the Patriots' possession, Michel stormed through the line for a 26-yard run. After he picked up 10 more yards with his next two carries, Burkhead's 26-yard run gave the Patriots a first down on the Rams' 33-yard line. Three plays later, Gostkowski succeeded on a 41-yard field goal, giving the Patriots a 13–3 lead with 1:12 left on the clock. Taking the ball back on their own 25, Goff completed a 10-yard pass to Woods, as well as completions to Cooks for gains of 24 and 21 yards, moving the ball to the Patriots' 30-yard line. With 8 seconds left, the Rams decided to kick a field goal, which would have been followed by an onside kick attempt, but Zuerlein missed wide left from 48 yards and the Patriots ran out the last few seconds of the game clock.

Totals
Brady completed 21 of 35 passes for 262 yards, with one interception. Edelman was his top target with 10 receptions for 141 yards, while Gronkowski made six receptions for 87 yards in his final game with the Patriots. Michel was the top rusher of the game with 94 yards and a touchdown. Gilmore had five solo tackles and an interception. Goff finished the day 19-for-38 passing, for 229 yards and an interception. Cooks was his top receiver with eight receptions for 120 yards. Littleton had 10 tackles (six solo) and an interception. Hekker punted nine times for 417 yards, an average of 46.3 yards per punt, and put five punts inside the 20. The Rams were only the second team in Super Bowl history to not score a touchdown, the first having been the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI after the 1971 season.

Brady became the first player in NFL history to win six Super Bowls, surpassing Charles Haley's only NFL record of five. Brady, also, at age 41, became the oldest quarterback to win and appear in a Super Bowl (although he did not play, the oldest quarterback ever to appear in a Super Bowl was Steve DeBerg in Super Bowl XXXIII at the age of 45), and, at the time, Bill Belichick was the oldest coach to win a Super Bowl, at age 66, until Bruce Arians surpassed that record at age 68 in Super Bowl LV. Edelman was named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player, and he was the first wide receiver to win the award since Santonio Holmes in Super Bowl XLIII after the 2008 season. Despite holding the Rams to just three points, no Patriots defender received a vote.

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