New England Patriots will face Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII
After two nail-biting conference title games that went into overtime, the teams for Super Bowl LIII are set. The New England Patriots will take on the Los Angeles Rams in this year's championship game Feb. 3.
In the AFC Championship, the New England Patriots survived a 37-31 shootout against MVP candidate Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Patriots took an early lead and sent the Chiefs into the locker room down 14-0 at halftime. After the break, it was non-stop fireworks with both teams trading touchdowns. There were four lead changes in the fourth quarter alone.
In overtime, the Patriots won the coin toss, and Tom Brady proved to be far too efficient for the Chiefs' defense to handle. He led the offense down to the goalline where running back Rex Burkhead won the game with a 2-yard touchdown. The Patriots will be making their third straight Super Bowl appearance.
"We just made some huge third down plays and guys played their butts off," Brady said in a postgame interview on CBS. "It took everything and like (coach Bill Belichick) said, they don't give these (trophies) away you gotta earn 'em."
Earlier Sunday, the Los Angeles Rams completed a comeback against the New Orleans Saints 26-23 in the NFC Championship. Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein was clutch when it mattered most. He nailed a 48-yard field goal that sent the game into overtime, and a 57-yarder to win the game.
It was a slow start for quarterback Jared Goff and the Rams offense. The Saints turned an early interception into points and went into halftime up 13-10. The loudness of the crowd at the Superdome made it difficult for Goff to communicate with his teammates.
"That place was loud. They were very loud," Goff said in a post game interview with Fox Sports.
The Saints defense bottled up the Rams offense for most of the first and second quarter, until Goff marched his team up the field before the half. He completed a deep 37-yard pass to Brandin Cooks, a former Saints player, to set up a 6-yard touchdown run by Todd Gurley. The play was a much needed momentum shift for the Rams.
Goff played outstanding in the second half, and ended the game with 297 yards through the air with 1 touchdown.
The Rams got some help from officials late in the fourth quarter when they missed a pass interference call with 1:47 left in regulation. Rams defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman leveled Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis while the ball was up for grabs.
The Saints were forced to settle for a field goal with enough time on the clock for the Rams to drive down the field for the game-tying kick. The play call stunned fans and the Saints offense never recovered. Brees threw a rare interception to Rams safety John Johnson in overtime and Zuerlein secured the win for Los Angeles.
