Patriots Defense Leading Way As Offense Struggles In First Half Of Super Bowl LIII
ATLANTA (CBS) -- The Patriots offense struggled in the first half of Super Bowl LIII. Their defense did not.
While Tom Brady and company failed to find the end zone, the New England defense was able to keep Jared Goff and the high-powered Los Angeles Rams offense off the scoreboard all together.
Los Angeles had just two first downs in the first half, going 0-for-6 on third down attempts. Their biggest failed attempt was on their second-to-last drive of the half. Facing a third-and-2 at the New England 47, Goff nearly had his upper body taken off by a charging Kyle Van Noy for a 14-yard sack.
New England Defensive lineman Danny Shelton also had a tackle for loss early in the second quarter, hitting running back C.J. Anderson for a three-yard loss. Shelton recorded just one such tackle during the regular season.
Goff had just 52 passing yards, going 5-for-11 on his pass attempts in the first half. Star running back Todd Gurley was held to 10 yards on three carries and found himself on the bench for large stretches of the second quarter. Backup C.J. Anderson didn't have much success on the ground either, rushing for just 10 yards on four carries.
The Rams picked up just 57 yards of offense off 22 plays in the first half, as New England forced six punts.
The Rams offense got the ball back after the Patriots offense failed to convert a fourth-and-1 at the Los Angeles 32-yard line. But Goff was sacked by Dont'a Hightower for a six-yard loss on the first play, and couldn't connect with Robert Woods on a short pass on third-and-2.
While Brady and the New England offense held the ball for nearly 20 minutes of the first half, they could only muster three points off a second quarter Stephen Gostkowski field goal. The kicker missed a 46-yarder earlier in the game. Brady finished the half 15-of-25 for 160 yards and an interception. Julian Edelman is leading the way for New England receivers with seven receptions for 93 yards, while tight end Rob Gronkowski has four catches for 40 yards.
New England running backs have just 44 rushing yards, with rookie Sony Michel leading the way with 22 yards on six carries.
With that, the Patriots went into the locker room with a 3-0 lead in Super Bowl LIII.