This year’s Super Bowl is all set, as we have the Los Angeles Rams taking on the New England Patriots. Both teams got here through their high powered offenses, as the Rams had without a doubt the most explosive offense in the NFL this year, while the Patriots had the best quarterback in the NFL.
It was just two years ago when a 30-year-old offensive coordinator from the Washington Redskins named Sean McVay was hired to be the new head coach of the dysfunctional 4-12 Rams, who had just moved from St. Louis to the big city of Los Angeles.
The move was highly questioned by sportscasters wondering whether a man young enough to be on the team should be coaching an NFL franchise. Well, after going 24-8 in his first two years, and getting to a Super Bowl, it’s safe to say that the Rams made the right move, and possibly one of the best coaching hires in NFL history. However, behind the Patriots, Bill Belichick will be attempting to make amends for last year’s blunder while also cementing his case as one of the greatest sports coaches of all time. Belichick already has five Super Bowl wins as a head coach and two as an assistant, marking him as the most awarded coach in NFL lore.
However, after last year’s debacle in which Nick Foles and the Eagles put up 41 points and over 400 yards of total offense, and the benching of starter Malcolm Butler, there have been some questions raised in Patriot Nation as to whether Bill’s still got game. It’ll be a battle of generations not just with the coaches, but also quarterbacks.
Before McVay came along, Jared Goff, now 24 years old, was the first overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft. Goff was thought to be a bust after going 0-7 with five touchdowns and seven interceptions. Since McVay’s hire, he’s thrown 60 touchdowns and 19 picks in what has become a match made in heaven between the two youngsters.
Goff will be going up against Tom Brady, 41, who is inarguably the best quarterback of all time after getting to his ninth Super Bowl, to the dismay of all the haters, who predicted him stepping off a cliff this year and said there is no chance him of retiring after this game. He has still been playing at the Tom Brady standard over the last month and still does not plan on stopping until he’s 45.
These teams had interesting journeys to the promise-land, as the Patriots had an uncharacteristic year going 11-5 with all five losses on the road, in which they averaged 17 points scored and 25 points given up, making people question if both Brady and Belichick were starting to erode with age.
And boy were they wrong! The country, as well as the media, have been predicting (or praying) that this team would fall all year, unlike the Rams, who came into the year as favorites to represent the NFC.
The Rams went big during the off-season, signing big-name players like Ndamukong Suh and trading for cornerbacks Aqib Talib, Marcus Peters and Dante Fowler.
This star-studded team, with the likes of Defensive Player of the Year defensive tackle Aaron Donald and running back Todd Gurley, will be looking to take down the system that is the dynasty of New England.
The Patriots have been riding an unusual underdog train using slogans like “Bet against us!” and “We’re still here!” They have heard the noise and understand the hate is real, which they are using to their advantage. “I know, everyone thinks we suck, and you know, we can’t win any games,” Brady said when previewing the AFC title game in Kansas City. All of Patriot Nation LOVED those words, and this mentality has driven them to go for another championship.
After last week’s games, the betting lines started with the Rams being favored by 2-3 points. But since Monday over 75-80 percent of the bets have been placed on New England which caused the lines to shift, which as of Tuesday night have the Patriots as 2.5 point favorites.
This game feels very similar to last year where an inexperienced team with a higher caliber of players and a high octane offense is taking on the team that’s been there and done that multiple times.
The Rams offense will be looking to score points as usual, while the defense will look to pressure Tom Brady, who hasn’t been sacked this postseason, as well as slow down their running game.
Belichick and his defense, meanwhile, will be looking to shut down at least one thing or player the Rams do well to make their offense one-dimensional, making it easier to beat.
I think we’ll have another shootout where the final drive of the game will decide the outcome, where one team has the game-deciding play to end it. I’m not guessing who’s going to win. I predict a score of 38-34.
Be sure to watch the Super Bowl Sunday night at 6:30 on CBS.