The New England Patriots have won Super Bowl LIII after a grinding 13-3 victory in Atlanta.
Appearing at his ninth Super Bowl Tom Brady led the Patriots to a sixth championship in their franchise history, defeating the LA Rams in a hard fought battle.
It was a record-breaking victory for Bill Belichick, taking his own tally of wins as a coach to six.
The Patriots lost the coin toss and so began a Super Bowl for fans of defense, and tough test for those who’d rather see free flowing offense.
By the end of the first quarter the game remained all square with neither side breaking the deadlock. New England had possession of the ball for over 11 minutes of the opening 15, but could not penetrate an efficient Rams defense.
It was not a high scoring affair at the Mercedes Benz Stadium…
Stephen Gostkowski missed a first quarter field goal attempt but returned early in the second to open the scoring with a successful three-pointer.
In what became a battle of attrition between defensive lines the score would remain 3-0 in the Pats’ favour until Greg Zuerlein slotted a monster 53-yard field goal effort, tying the game up for the Rams.
Entering the fourth a tried and tested option paved a route downfield for New England as Tom Brady found Rob Gronkowski, before Sony Michel barrelled over for the first touchdown of the night.
Converting for an extra point the Patriots held a seven point lead with less than half the final quarter remaining. Another Gostkowski field goal put the game beyond doubt with little over a minute remaining.
The game would officially end as a contest when the Rams missed a field goal effort with eight seconds remaining, putting what would have been an incredibly unlikely comeback beyond reach.
Pats’ Route To Super Bowl 53
AFC Divisional Playoffs
Los Angeles Chargers 28-41 New England Patriots
New England Patriots 37-31 Kansas City Chiefs
Super Bowl LIII
New England Patriots 13-3 LA Rams
If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via stories@unilad.co.uk
