The Los Angeles Rams take on the New England Patriots in Super Bowl
LIII on Sunday. It’ll be tough but here’s how the Rams can end the Patriots
dynasty.
It would be fitting for the Los Angeles Rams to win this
Super Bowl. It’s a story line you’ve been hearing all week and one you won’t
stop hearing until the game is over. 17 years ago, the New England Patriots
beat the then St. Louis Rams by a score of 20 to 17 in Super Bowl XXXVI. It was
their first Super Bowl win behind an unknown young quarterback named Tom Brady.
The Patriots were outplayed in almost every aspect of that
Super Bowl, except one. Turn overs. The Rams turned the ball over three times
to the Patriots’ none. Fast forward 17 years and here we are again. Instead of
Brady going up against the veteran Kurt Warner, it’s Jared Goff playing against
possibly the greatest quarterback of all time in Brady.
The Patriots are trying to play the “underdog” card in the
media. Tom keeps spouting off about how he’s too old and no one believes in him
and the team, as well as the city of Boston, suddenly thinks that they are
underdogs in this game. No one outside of Massachusetts is buying that for a
second. Embrace being dominant, it was harder to hate you when you did.
The Patriots are -2.5 favorites going into the game but the
Rams, much like the Eagles last season, present Belichick, Brady and the Pats
with possibly their toughest test to date. Here’s how the Rams can get the job
done on Sunday, and hopefully put the final nail in the dynasty coffin.
DEFENSIVE LINE
PRESSURE
The most obvious reason the Rams can dominate this game is
through the play of Ndamukong Suh and Aaron Donald. Donald, who led the
league in sacks this season (20.5), is a freak. There’s no other way to put it.
He is not human and the things he can do on a football field
should be illegal. He commands a double team, and when he gets it (often), the
rest of the line goes to work. That’s if Donald doesn’t beat the double team
himself.
There were plays in the NFC Championship in which Donald
looked like he was running through a light practice. He’s so incredibly fast
that even when offensive line players play perfectly, they can still get beat on
any given play. The guy is just better at football than anyone else on the
planet.
The Patriots are going to have their hands full keeping
Brady’s jersey clean on Sunday. If the Rams can pressure Brady often (they
will), they can increase their chances of winning tenfold. Tom Brady has yet to
be sacked in this post season. Expect that to change in Super Bowl LIII.
Expect Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips to have some
fun with the Patriots offensive line on Sunday.
RUNNING THE BALL
Nothing fancy, just run. The Rams have two starting-caliber
running backs in Todd Gurley and C.J. Anderson. Even though Anderson has been
getting the bulk of the work lately, no one truly believes Gurley sat out most
of last game for no other reason than he was still hurt.
With a full two-week recovery before this game, both backs
should be good to go, giving the Rams a surprising late-season two-headed
monster. No one would have expected this before the team claimed Anderson ahead
of their week 16 game.
Having these two running the ball is going to be hard on the
Patriots defense. The Rams also have more weapons on the receiving end, with
Robert Woods and ex-Patriot Brandin Cooks and Josh Reynolds, who has stepped up
and made big plays when needed. This brings us to our third reason.
JARED GOFF
Look, I’ll take heat for this, but right now, Jared Goff is
better than Tom Brady. This isn’t taking anything away from what Brady’s done
over his career, but heading into Super Bowl LIII, Jared Goff is more mobile,
has a stronger arm and more weapons. If he knows this and if he doesn’t let the
bright lights of the big game get to him, the Rams will win the Super Bowl.
Brandin Cooks is going to come out with a chip on his
shoulder after playing in this game with the Patriots last season. Not only is
he looking for redemption against an old team, but also redemption in his Super
Bowl performance. Cooks was injured last season when he was a member of the
Patriots playing against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Rams offensive line makes it difficult to get to Goff,
but even if you do, he still has the ability to scramble and make plays on the
ground. The combination of Goff’s abilities as a QB, his receivers, having a
healthy pass-catching back in Gurley who might be the leagues best offensive
player and the last-ditch ability to use his legs to get a first down makes
this team a very tough team to stop on any given possession.
The coaching battle between the man who’s seen it all in
Bill Belichick against Sean McVay’s photographic brilliance is going to be
really fun to watch. When it’s all said and done, the Rams just have more
pieces on the table going into this game. They have an edge on defense, running
the ball and quarterback options.
Experience is going to play a factor in the game and who
better to deal with it than Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots. If the
Rams can stay level and not let the emotion and excitement of the Super Bowl
affect their play, they have a great chance at winning this game. It won’t be
easy. The one this we do know is that they won’t be getting any help from the
other side of the field.
Don’t buy into the Patriots being underdogs. That ridiculous
narrative has been the most annoying part of Super Bowl week thus far. On
Sunday, they should (and will) be favored to win. That being said, the Rams
have everything it takes to dethrone them and avenge the loss that kicked off
Brady’s career 17 years ago.
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