ATLANTA — Led by a masterful defensive game plan and an offense that did just enough, the New England Patriots won their sixth Super Bowl in franchise history Sunday, defeating the Los Angeles Rams 13-3. Star quarterback Tom Brady repeatedly connected with scrappy wide receiver Julian Edelman — who won Super Bowl MVP — to the tune of 10 catches for 141 yards. The dynamic duo gave the Rams defense fits all night in what would become the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in history.
The game entered the fourth quarter tied at 3 points each, but Brady led the offense to 10 4th quarter points, including a game-sealing 41-yard field goal by kicker Stephen Gostkowski, who had missed a chip shot earlier in the contest. The big time kick followed a nine-play, 72-yard drive with a handful of minutes left in the game.
The Patriots entered the game as slight favorites, with bookmakers and gambling sites pitting New England as 2 1/2-point favorites. Smarkets and Betfair gave Brady and head coach Bill Belichick a 55 percent chance to win. This means if gamblers correctly bet $100 on the Patriots to win, they now stand to win $83.33.
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BETDAQ, Betfair Exchange, Royal Panda and Sky Bet were even more bullish on the Patriots, giving them a 58 percent chance to win. This means if gamblers correctly placed a $100 bet on the Patriots to win, they now stand to win $72.73.
Brady and Co. didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard as they did a year ago when he threw for more than 500 yards in a high-scoring Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Indeed, Brady’s line in this contest was much more pedestrian — 21 completions out of 35 attempts for 262 yards and zero touchdowns. He even threw an interception on his first pass of the game.
No, this game belonged to the Patriots defense, which kept McVay and Goff off-balance all night. Goff completed 19 passes out of 38 attempts for just 229 yards and no touchdowns. Goff also threw a pick. And as tough as yards were to have through the air, they were even harder to find on the ground. Star runningback Todd Gurley II mustered a paltry 35yards on 10 carries while bruiser C.J. Anderson managed just 22 yards on seven carries. The Patriots defense forced Johnny Hekker to boot nine punts in the game, including a 65-yarder. The defense also allowed just one field goal on the night.
The Rams, who averaged nearly 33 points per game this season, joined the Miami Dolphins as only the second team to fail to score a touchdown in the title game.
Photo credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images