Patriots Vs. Rams: Super Bowl LIII Preview

By Andres Cruz

There’s no doubt that football is the epicenter of sports in American culture. For well over a century, Americans across the nation have gathered on the bleachers of stadiums, from a high school football fields giant domes that can seat tens of thousands to watch the sport first-hand. With that in mind, it’s safe to say that the Super Bowl is the mecca of sporting events in the United States. Families throw viewing parties, tailgate, and hold backyard cookouts in celebration of the game.

This year’s Super Bowl will be one to remember as the New England Patriots, who are going into their third straight championship appearance and tenth overall appearance, face off against the Los Angeles Rams.

The participants in the Super  Bowl are decided through two conferences, the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The Patriots won their spot by defeating their competition in the AFC championship while the Rams secured their place in a contentious NFC championship match.

The build-up to Super Bowl LIII differentiates from many Super Bowls before, as it has been the topic of heated controversy lately regarding the outcome of the NFC Championship.

With less than two minutes left in the game between the New Orleans Saints and the Los Angeles Rams, Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman vividly rammed into Saints Wide Receiver Tommylee Lewis with the ball still in the air. Instead of calling a pass interference, the referees dismissed it as a fair play. That missed call Ultimately led to the Saints’ defeat, as the Rams won in the first overtime with an impressive fifty-seven-yard field goal, 26-23. The AFC championship also went into the first overtime, with the Patriots defeating the Kansas City Chiefs on a first possession drive into the endzone, 37-31.

Now with the Super Bowl opponents officially set, NFL fans everywhere are highly anticipating the unexpected match-up on February 3rd. That being said, everyone is eager to see the on-field talent that both teams have to offer when they clash at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

The New England Patriots are favored to win by most in the sports realm, which isn’t a surprise at all considering their extremely efficient team and their remarkable postseason record. The franchise has five Super Bowl wins under their belt, and twenty-five playoff appearances within the forty-nine years since the merger between the two major American Football Leagues, the AFL and NFL. What makes the Pats so entertaining to watch on the field is their impressive squads on both offensive and defensive.

The Patriots offense is led by their legendary quarterback Tom Brady, who has led the Pats to all five of the franchise’s Super Bowl Victories. Brady and his backfield are protected by an aggressive offensive line, led by center David Andrews. Brady also has an impressive squad of receivers at his disposal, such as tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receivers Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan.

Besides their sometimes dysfunctional defensive line, New England’s defense is another force to be reckoned with. Defensive tackle Danny Shelton has been impressive the last couple of weeks, proving to be an improvement to their run defense in the regular season. Then there is the unofficial star of the defensive unit, defensive end Trey Flowers, who is notorious in using his ability of swiftly shedding blocks and quickly finding the ball carrier to prevent first downs on run plays.

Back on the west coast, the Rams have more than proven their worth of playing in the championship. Although they are the underdogs and are popularly predicted to lose by a large margin, the Rams have notable talent on both sides of the ball. The Los Angeles offense is led by star running back Todd Gurley, who bolted for 1,251 yards and scored seventeen touchdowns this regular season. On defense, defensive tackles Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh make the Los Angeles D-line a force to be reckoned with and will be a grave test to David Andrews and the rest of New England offensive line.

Super Bowl LIII is predicted to be a blowout by many with the Patriots coming out victorious, yet others expect a tightly contested match. However it might turn out, this Super Bowl will be one to watch as old sentiments have risen for this 2002 Super Bowl rematch which resulted in the first Championship win for the Patriots franchise. The Rams will be trying to bring back the first Vince Lombardi trophy to Los Angeles ever since their return to the city in 2016. Regarding all of that, this Super Bowl is sure to be an exciting one which will be historical for both franchises.

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