ATLANTA — Much to the dismay of not just the Los Angeles Rams and the millions of football fans across the country and even the globe, with exception of the fortunate few in the New England area, the Patriots captured yet another Super Bowl championship for the sixth time in the last two decades with a pair of lights out performances from their defensive and special teams units Sunday.
As the National Football League has become enamored with high flying offenses and the record-breaking amounts of points that were put up this past season, the age-old premise that “Defense Wins Championships” has begun to get called into question and challenged.
In what was supposed to be a tightly contested game between two of the top scoring offenses in the league, it was the Patriots defense that ranked 21st in total defense during the regular season that decided to bring their “A” game and shut down Rams’ top flight offense.
They were able to put the clamps on young up-and-coming coach Sean McVay’s prolific offense that average more that 400 total yards in the regular season and over 360 yards in the playoffs prior to the Super Bowl. That unit held the Rams to just 260 total yards, or 4.3 yards per play, and a single field goal in the championship bout.
From start to finish, New England was constantly pressure Rams’ quarterback Jared Goff, knocking him to the turf, forcing several premature and over throws as well forcing him into ill-advised passes of his back foot with defenders always in his face.
They were able to corral Goff for four sacks on the night, with just about every one ending a drive or taking the Rams out of field position and even force a fumble.
They also were able to force him to under throw a pass to former Patriots receiver Brandon Cooks as LA appeared to be on a scoring drive late that resulted in an interception to seemingly seal the game, and cemented their third championship title in the last six seasons.
Even though Rams punter Johnny Hekker was able to pin two more balls inside the 20-yard line, it was Patriots Ryan Allen who proved the most instrumental to his team’s success on the day. Hekker also set the Super Bowl record for longest punt at 65 yards, a mark held previously by Allen.
With precise back spin and ball placement coupled with the excellent play of his fellow teammates on the coverage unit, Allen was able to pin the Rams inside of not just their 20, but their own 10-yard line three times. None of those Los Angeles drives yielded any points of even amassed more than 35 yards as they all ended in Hekker punts.
While Patriots all-time scoring leader in kicker Stephen Gostkowski missed his first attempt of the game from 46 yards out, he would go on to score the first and last points of the game, with a extra point in between to help his team accumulate the points they need to secure the decisive victory.
Although the Rams star studded defense did not bring home the Lombardi trophy and gave up 10 fourth-quarter points to the Patriots, they played with a championship-winning caliber for three quarters and kept their team right in the thick of it until the very end. For that, they deserve recognition as well as an honorable mention for their valiant efforts.
