THE TYGRRRR EXPRESS

Super Bowl LIII (53) Recap

On Saturday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined 8 new people into Canton, Ohio glory. Sunday brought the Super Bowl in Atlanta. Both the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots won their Conference Title Game on the road in overtime. They both had impressive offenses. Not on this day. Super Bowl LIII (53) was the lowest scoring Super Bowl in history as the teams combined for only one touchdown and three field goals. For the most part, it was not bad offense. Rams coach Sean McVay and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels are both innovative strategists. They just ran into a buzzsaw. One can argue whether Patriots coach Bill Belichick is the greatest coach of all time (no), but he and Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator are the two best strategists in the history of NFL defense. The Patriots dominated the game everywhere but the scoreboard. The Patriots blew chances when Tom Brady’s first pass of the game was deflected and intercepted. Then Stephen Gostkowski missed a 46 yard field goal try. Gostkowski connected from 42 in the second quarter for the only score of the half. On 4th and 1 from the Rams 32, Belichick opted to go for it rather than try a 50 yard field goal. Brady threw incomplete. Late in the third quarter, Jared Goff fired what would have been a 29 yard touchdown to Brandon Cooks. Devin McCourty at the last moment broke up the play incomplete. Greg “The Leg” Zuerlein drilled a 53 yard field goal as the teams were tied 3-3 after three quarters.

Last year, Brady threw for 505 yards. This year he was stifled most of the game. He did not throw a touchdown pass. Yet with 9:43 to play from the New England 31, Brady finally got going. He hit Rob Gronkowski for 18 yards, Julian Edelam for 13 more, Burkhead for 7, and then deep to Gronkowski for 29 yards down to the 2 yard line. Sony Michel ran it in. After 53 minutes, the game finally had a touchdown as the Patriots led 10-3. Goff was even more bottled up in this game. Yet after a touchback, Goff moved the Rams from their 25 to a 1st and 10 at the New England 27 with 4 1/2 minutes left. Goff went deep to Cooks, who beat the double coverage, Cooks had it in his hands for the tying touchdown that never was. For the second time on the day, he dropped it. The earlier drop would have been a tough catch. This one was in his hands. He just lost the ball. On the next play under heavy pressure, Goff threw off his back foot. The ball was under thrown and intercepted by Stefan Gilmore at the New England 4 yard line.

The Rams defense hung tough all game, but with no help from the offense, it finally bent. Michel ran for a 26 yard gain. On 3rd and 1 from the Rams 24, the defense that showed heart all game stopped Michel inches short of the sticks. With 1:16 left, Gostkowski came in for a 41 yard field goal try to lock up the win. Gostkowski was shaky on the day, but he just barely snuck this one inside the upright. In a season where nothing came easy and the Patriots dynasty was teetering, they had the 10 point lead. The last chance for a Rams miracle evaporated with 8 seconds left when Zuerlein missed a 48 yard field goal try. The Patriots won their 6th Super Bowl, most in NFL history. Bill Belichick became the only coach to win 6 Super Bowls. Tom Brady became the only player to win 6 Super Bowls. Belichick reduced Toddy Gurley to a non-factor and CJ Anderson into a fumble that nearly killed the Rams. While it appeared that a Chabad Rabbi won the MVP of the game, it turned out to be Julian Edelman sporting a Chassidic beard. He had 10 catches for 141 yards, with many of those catches being critical third down conversions. After 42 years without a Super Bowl win, the Patriots won for the 6th time in the last 18 years under owner Robert Kraft. In 10 weeks, the 2019 NFL Draft takes place. The Arizona Cardinals are on the clock. The 2018 NFL season is now in the books. 13-3 Patriots