Tom Brady and Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots managed to win their sixth Super Bowl Sunday night defeating the Los Angeles Rams, 13-3.
The big news of the day, however, was the fact that Brady and the Pats’ offense didn’t play well. It was overshadowed by the outstanding play of the defense and wide receiver Julian Edelman. If you recall my column of last week, Julian was one of the reasons I gave for New England to win the big game. He’s not flashy, nor does he command the headlines after a game. All he does is catch pass after pass from Brady, which, after all, is his job.
He caught 10 passes for141 yards and earned Most Valuable Player honors for his stellar performance Sunday night. One of those passes was a 13-yard reception during the go-ahead touchdown drive with seven minutes remaining in the game that kept the drive alive. Talk about a valuable player!
And did you see Brady and Edelman embrace on the field after the final whistle blew? That was an expression of the love they have for each other. They both had tears of joy in their eyes!
Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips put together a defensive game plan that was almost perfect, disguising pass coverage that fooled Brady time and time again, making it appear that Rams defensive backs were playing man to man when they were actually in zone coverage. That was masterful.
Phillips is the son of the late Bum Phillips, but make no mistake about it, he is a great coach in his own right. I predict he will be a Hall of Famer before he disappears.
Edelman didn’t play last season due to a knee injury suffered during the pre-season and he missed the first four games of the 2018 season as he was suspended for violating the NFL policy on performance enhancers., which, like NFL officiating, is flawed because nobody knows what all prescription and over the counter products contain.
Many Monday morning quarterbacks might have chosen to go for the yard and a half with 1:27 to go in the game which would have sealed the deal for the Patriots, who led 10-3 and would have made it a two-score game at that point. Bill and I agreed to go for the field goal, however, trusting field-goal kicker Stephen Gostkowski to make the 41-yard three-pointer that put the Patriots up by 13-3, making it the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in history, a testament to both defenses.
I won’t go on record as saying Super Bowl LIII was the best ever, but it kept me from going to the refrigerator as much as I usually do. I also didn’t make as many trips to the facility as is normal for me. It didn’t matter as there weren’t that many big plays to miss. Perhaps the biggest play of the game was Rob Gronkowski’s spectacular catch on the Rams’ two-yard line toward the end of the game. It would have been sad to have missed that after watching the whole game!
Brady and Belichick both have to weigh their return to action for the 2019 season. I expect both of them to return as they both are in good health and wealthy. I also expect Edelman to return as he himself said he is “blessed” to be playing for the Patriots and owner Robert Kraft and with Tom Brady.
And why not?
Several fans had written the Patriots off before the playoffs started this season, saying Brady was too old and over the hill at 41. While 42 may be old for an NFL quarterback, I saw nothing about Brady that indicated he was too old.
Au contrer, mi amigo, I believe he was ready for overtime Sunday and ready for another season, if not for another Super Bowl!
