Patriots Take Down Rams 13-3 In Lowest Scoring Super Bowl Ever
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ATLANTA (CBSMiami/AP) – Unfortunately for most football fans, Super Bowl LIII did not live up to the billing.
For those who may have dozed off...the Patriots have won the Super Bowl.
New England topped the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in a game that dragged the high-def NFL back to the days of black-and-white TV. It was the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in the 53-year history of the game.
Tom Brady captured his record sixth NFL title by throwing for 262 yards, without a touchdown. The Patriots matched the Steelers for most Super Bowl wins, with six.
Julian Edelman caught 10 passes for 141 yards; he was the day's only consistent offensive threat.
Brady engineered the game's lone touchdown drive —a five-play, 69-yard march punctuated by an over-the-shoulder, 29-yard throw into the hands of tight end Rob Gronkowski. On the next play, Sony Michel scored on a 2-yard plunge with 7 minutes to play for a 10-3 lead.
But the real stars of this game were the New England defenders, who smothered Rams quarterback Jared Goff, holding him to 229 yards that felt like less.
After New England's score, Goff moved the Rams down to the New England 28 with 4:30 left. But the third-year quarterback threw one up for grabs near the end zone and cornerback Stephon Gilmore stepped in front for the interception.
The Rams, who averaged 32.9 points a game this season, joined the Miami Dolphins —from Super Bowl 6 in 1972— as the only the second team not to muster a touchdown in the title game.
REMATCH HISTORY
Tonight's game between the Rams and Patriots marked the eighth rematch in Super Bowl history.
With the Patriots win in Atlanta, the team that won the previous matchup is now 5-3. New England defeated the Rams, then in St. Louis, 20-17 back in 2002.
Pittsburgh and Dallas have met three times. Pittsburgh won the first rematch, a 35-31 thriller in Super Bowl 13. Then, 17 years later, Dallas defeated the Steelers 27-17.
Other rematches:
—Redskins 27, Dolphins 17 in Super Bowl 17; a rematch of Miami's perfection-capping victory in Super Bowl 7.
—Giants 21, Patriots 17 in Super Bowl 46; a rematch of New York's win, which spoiled New England's run at an undefeated season, four years earlier.
—Cowboys 30, Bills 13 in Super Bowl 38; a rematch of Dallas' crushing of the Bills the previous year.
—Eagles 41, Patriots 33 in Super Bowl 52; a rematch of New England's win in Super Bowl 39.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)