Super Bowl LIII Matchup: Things To Know
(CBS LA/CBS Local) -- The New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams meet in Super Bowl LIII in just six days, with the official festivities for Super Bowl week beginning tonight with the traditional media day availability for both teams. Now that the game is just a short ways away, let's take a quick look at some things you should know heading into the broadcast on CBS this Sunday, February 3rd at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
Largest Ever Age Gap Between Quarterbacks & Head Coaches
The Patriots, of course, have been here quite a few times (nine, to be exact) in the last 18 years, and each of those visits has come with the same head coach and starting quarterback leading the team. Tom Brady (age 41) and Bill Belichick (age 66) are grizzled veterans, to say the least, and could become the oldest quarterback and coach respectively to win a Super Bowl in NFL history.
Their counterparts, by comparison, are in the infancy of their NFL careers. Rams head coach, Sean McVay (age 33), is the youngest coach to make it to the big game, while quarterback Jared Goff becomes the third-youngest (24 years 106 days) signal-caller to play in the game, displacing Tom Brady by a few months.
The age gap between the quarterbacks (17 years) and the coaches (33 years) is the largest ever for a Super Bowl matchup.
Stream the Patriots-Rams in Super Bowl LIII on CBSSports.com.
Patriots & Rams Have Met In Super Bowl Before
The last time these two teams met, the roles were basically reversed. In Super Bowl XXXVI, the Rams were known as "The Greatest Show On Turf," led by the combination of Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk and receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. They had won Super Bowl XXXIV over the Tennessee Titans just two years prior and were looking to make their mark as a modern-day dynasty.
The Patriots were the young upstarts, with Brady having stepped in for Drew Bledsoe after Bledsoe suffered an injury in the second game of the season against the New York Jets. Brady then led the team to an 11-3 finish to the season. He became the youngest quarterback to ever win the Super Bowl, when the Patriots knocked off the Rams 20-17.
If Rams Win, It Would Be Organization's First Title In L.A.
The Rams have been a bit of a wandering franchise over their time in the NFL, beginning life in Cleveland in 1937 before moving out to Los Angeles in the mid-40s. They stayed in L.A. up until 1995, when the franchise moved once again, this time to St. Louis. In their 48 seasons prior to leaving for St. Louis, the Rams played in the Super Bowl just once, in 1979 -- a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The organization's lone Super Bowl win came in the 1999-2000 season, when Dick Vermeil led the team to a 23-16 win over the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV.
The city of Los Angeles itself has seen just one Super Bowl title, and that came via the Raiders in 1984. So, if Jared Goff and Sean McVay were to earn the win on Sunday, it would end a 35-year drought since the Lombardi Trophy has been in the city of stars.
If Patriots Win, They Tie The Pittsburgh Steelers For Most Super Bowl Wins
The Patriots have won an impressive five Super Bowls in their eight appearances in the game under Belichick and Brady. After getting one for the thumb in Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons, Brady and company are now looking to tie the Steelers for most Super Bowl wins with six. The Steelers were the dominant team of the 70s and early 80s, winning four between 1975 and 1980, and then added two more in 2006 and 2009.
The Patriots dynasty has had two distinct runs, the first in the early 2000s (Super Bowls in '02, '04 and '05) and in the later half of this decade ('15, '17). But that list doesn't even include what most consider to be the best team they have ever had. The 2007 squad went 18-0 through the regular season and first two rounds of the playoffs, before falling to the Giants, 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII.
