New England - Brady & Edelman 2018

2018 - Number 6 Super Bowls for the New England Patriots

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, Georgia, 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, they’re fourth in five years, and they’re 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 they’re 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, as well as 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 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 1984’s Super Bowl XVIII and the Rams’ first as a Los Angeles team since 1980’s Super Bowl XIV.

Super Bowl LIII was the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in NFL history. It also had the lowest amount of touchdowns at one, with Patriots running back Sony Michel scoring the game’s sole touchdown on a two-yard run. For the first time in the Super Bowl, neither team had a touchdown in the first three quarters, as the Patriots and the Rams fought to a 3–3 tie entering the final quarter. The defensive battle continued into the fourth, but New England scored 10 unanswered points to claim victory. The Patriots’ one touchdown tied them with the New York Jets in Super Bowl III for the fewest touchdowns 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 then-oldest starting quarterback and head coach to win the Super Bowl at 41 and 66 respectively; both would be surpassed by Brady and Bruce Arians in Super Bowl LV. Brady was also the only starting quarterback to win the Super Bowl in his 40s.