Super Bowl LIII Live Blog: Patriots vs. Rams

Here we go again! The Patriots are back in the Super Bowl for the third straight season, this time ready to battle the Los Angeles Rams, a rematch 17 years in the making. The only remaining characters are Brady and Belichick, who will attempt to bookend their championships with wins over the Rams. Kickoff is in about 75 minutes, so we are at the point where the players, coaches, and fans are just ready to get started. Here are the inactive players for tonight’s showdown:

PATRIOTS- TE Stephen Anderson, OL James Ferentz, S Obi Melifonwu, DL Ufomba Kamalu, DL Keointa Davis, DE Derek Rivers, DB Duke Dawson

RAMS- DB Darious Williams, RB Justin Davis, OLB Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, OLD Trevon Young, OL Jamil Denby, DT Sebastian Joseph-Day, DT Tanzel Smart

No surprises on either side, and one thing that stands out for the Patriots, in my opinion, is the health of the roster. The Rams are pretty healthy too,  but Gurley has been battling something, and there is no guarantee that he is 100%. OK, see you guys in an hour.

FIRST QUARTER

15:00- Rams defer, and the Patriots offense will start Super Bowl LIII with the ball. Here we go.

14:55- Big return by Patterson, and the Patriots offense starts out at their own 39.

14:48- Trap goes for 14 for Michel; 1st & 10…

14:02- Good run on the jet sweep by Patterson; 2nd & 4…

13:24- Five-yard run by Michel; 1st & 10 from the Rams 37…

12:46- Run of three by Michel; 2nd & 7…

12:06- Interception, Rams. Bad throw by Brady, deflected by Robey-Coleman, and the Rams get a huge takeaway. That could be a early killer for the Pats.

11:40- Gurley ran for two, and then the Patriots got pressure on Goff for an incomplete pass; 3rd & 8, Patriots defense looking for a huge stop…

11:15- The defense gets a quick stop, and the offense gets off the hook for the turnover. Not only did the Rams get nothing out of it, they only gained two yards. New England moved the ball well on the 1st series before the pick, so this should be interesting to see if they can still run. Patriots 0, Rams 0

11:06- Michel runs for one; 2nd & 9…

10:34- Terrible throw, but it looked like a throwaway; 3rd & 9 already…

10:20- Edelman makes the catch and run for 13; 1st & 10 from the Patriots 24…

9:49- Suh with the clothesline tackle on Michel, which was a penalty; 2nd & 14…

9:12- A great play by LA, but they get the hit to the head call, which was warranted. 1st & 10 from the New England 35…

8:46- Burkhead runs for five; 2nd & 5 from the 40…

8:09- Seven-yard catch by Burkhead; 1st & 10 from the 47…timeout, Patriots

7:39- Gronk picks up 17 on the crossing pattern; 1st & 10 from the Rams 34…

6:58- Burkhead runs for two; 2nd & 8…

6:17- Hogan was covered on the long throw to the end zone; 3rd & 8…and the Patriots call another timeout, their second on this drive. They clearly see something they want to take advantage of, or they don’t like a matchup. Either way, they only have one timeout left for the remainder of the half. Patriots 0, Rams 0

6:13- New England tries to run the draw, but it only goes for three. Gostkowski will attempt a field goal…

5:35- He missed. Two strong drive= zero points, which is the Patriots nightmare scenario for this game. Gostkowski sucks in the clutch. I really don’t care what anyone thinks of that opinion. In big games, he sucks. Patriots 0, Rams 0

5:27- Woods picks up five on the end-around; 2nd & 5…

4:42- Reynolds gains 11; 1st & 10 from the Patriots 49…

4:14- Good pressure by New England forces an incompletion; 2nd & 10…

4:09- Woods gains seven on the catch; 3rd & 3 from the 42…

3:32- Great timing by Chung to force a 4th down decision for the Rams…and they’ll punt, maybe…delay of game called on LA; 4th & 8 from the 47…New England will start their next series at their own 18 yard line, and hopefully they can get a score this time. Patriots 0, Rams 0

3:00- Four yard run by Michel; 2nd & 6…

2:45- Edelman with a catch and run for seven; 1st & 10…

2:20- Terrible throw into coverage; 2nd & 10…

2:14- Edelman was wide open, and he picks up 15. 1st & 10…

1:39- Brady needs to get that out of his hands, as in THROW IT AWAY. Andrews recovered the stupid fumble. 2nd & 19…

:56- Gronk with a big 14-yard catch; 3rd & 5 from the Rams 40…

:18- Patriots punt from the Rams 40, and the offense continues to drive to around the 30-40 before stalling. The Rams are getting pressure, and Brady is struggling.

:06- Anderson runs for five on 1st down; 2nd & 5 from the Rams 11, and that will end the first quarter. The Patriots dominated play, but they have nothing to show for it. Patriots 0, Rams 0

SECOND QUARTER

15:00- False start; on the play, their was a clothes line tackle, which was the EXACT same thing that happened to New England.

14:41- Wise with the tackle; 3rd & 7…

14:11- Pass is deflected by Simon, but if he didn’t, that is a pick-six. If the Patriots offense wakes up, the Rams could be in trouble. The Patriots offense takes over at their own 36. They need some kind of points on this drive. Patriots 0, Rams 0

13:53- Six yard gain by Edelman; 2nd & 4…

13:14- Gronk for three; 3rd & 1….

12:31- Edelman with a huge catch on 3rd down, again. 1st & 10 from the Rams 29…

11:43- Jet sweep for one yard; 2nd & 9…he should have stayed outside….

11:13- Incomplete pass; bad play, 3rd & 9…

11:05- Gronk for four, and this is the last thing Patriots fans want to see- Gostkowski from 41 yards out…

10:55- FIELD GOAL, PATRIOTS! Gostkowski slips it inside the left upright, and the Patriots have the first score and lead of the game. Gronk got banged up on the catch a down earlier; Brady needs to get on the same page with Chris Hogan. Patriots 3, Rams 0

10:22- Weak kickoff coverage, and the Rams offense will start out at their own 28….

10:17- Anderson, a known Patriot-killer, runs for five; 2nd & 5…

9:22- Rams are moving now; 2nd & 7 from the Patriots 44…

8:42- HUGE play by Danny Shelton on the run STUFF! 3rd & 10 from the 50…

8:00- Jason McCourty was physical, but he got away with it, and he broke up the pass at the 10. The Rams show punt, but you never know…

7:50- Edelman returns it to the 17, and the Patriots offense will come back out. If they could ever put together a touchdown drive, it would be huge. Gurley still looks hurt, Goff is feeling the pressure, and the Patriots know they can stop these guys. If the offense gets rolling, they can win this thing going away, but that is a big IF. Patriots 3, Rams 0

7:30- Burkhead for three; 2nd & 7…

7:03- White with a drop, and the offense continues to kill themselves. This is tough to watch; 3rd & 7…

6:56- White with the catch on a checkdown (pressure forced it, I get that). The o-line needs to get their s**t together or they’ll be the reason they lose the Super Bowl. It has happened before. Patriots 3, Rams 0

**I can’t stress enough how bad the offense is screwing up this opportunity. WAKE UP!!

6:09- Gurley runs for five; 2nd & 5 from the 50…

5:33- Gurley runs for three; 3rd & 2..big play here…

4:44- Van Noy with a huge sack, and the Rams are forced to punt again, and the punt bounced back to the Patriots 27. Let’s see if Brady and the offense can sustain a touchdown drive. Patriots 3, Rams 0

3:51- Edelman with his 6th catch, this time for another 1st down; 1st & 10…

3:16- Burkhead runs for three; 2nd & 7 from the Patriots 40….

2:35- Edelman again, this time for nine. He has seven catches for 93 yards; 1st & 10…we have reached the two-minute warning.

2:00- Patterson with the catch and run for five; 2nd & 5…

1:33- 12 men on the field for the Rams gives the Patriots another 1st down. Brady caught them; 1st & 10 from the Rams 41…

1:30- Brady with a crap throw on a middle screen to White, and the play was there. 2nd & 10…

1:26- Brady throws it wide on the out; 3rd & 10, and here comes Edelman…

1:19- Patterson picks up nine to set up 4th & 1, and now the Patriots have a decision to make. They’ll go for it…

1:13- Incomplete. Brady threw into double coverage, which was foolish. The Rams had the pick play covered, and the Rams take over. New England is in deep trouble.

1:06- SACK!! Hightower gets there this time, and the Patriots defense keeps rolling…

:36- Cooks for 14, 3rd & 2…

:28- Incomplete pass, and it appears that the defense has bailed out the offense yet again. The Patriots defense is playing great, but so are the Rams. This has been all defense in this half. Patriots 3, Rams 0

:00- That is the end of the half, and the Patriots hold the 3-0 lead. All defense in that half from both sides; impressive stuff.

HALFTIME SCORE: NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 3, LOS ANGELES RAMS 0

THIRD QUARTER

15:00- Touchback; Rams will start at the 25…

14:56- Hightower just dropped an easy interception on the ground. You need to catch that. 2nd & 10…

14:48- Gurley rips one off on the cutback for 15…damn it, you need to make that pick. 1st & 10….

13:37- …and here comes Todd Gurley. Wow, the Patriots have blown chances all night, and now Chung is down. The Patriots just can’t make things happen tonight, and the Rams offense is starting to wake up.

13:35- No gain; 3rd & 5 for the Rams…

13:06- Gilmore bats down the pass, and the secondary continues their strong play. After facing two very good offenses the last two games, it appears New England can handle this Rams offense. They don’t have a Tyreek Hill, although they are good.

12:52- Four yard run by Michel; 2nd & 6…

12:18- Early whistle after the two yard gain; 3rd & 4…

11:36- Edelman with a huge 27-yard catch to get the Patriots back into strong field position. Great play! 1st & 10 from the NE 40….

10:57- Brady bounces the pass on play action because of Donald; 2nd & 10…

10:52- Edelman on the tunnel screen for a gain of eight; 3rd & 2…

10:14- Incomplete…again. The offense just can’t get it done consistently tonight. Slater just made maybe the coolest “downing” of a punt I’ve ever seen, and it is at the Rams two. The Patriots honestly might need their defense to get them a score. Patriots 3, Rams 0

10:01- Illegal shift, Rams are backed up to the one; 1st & 11…penalty was declined, 2nd & 8…

9:34- Run for two; 3rd & 6…

8:50- Smothered. The Patriots make another play on defense, but Hekker gets the luckiest role ever on a 65-yard punt, breaking Ryan Allen’s record. The Patriots offense takes over a their own 34. Hey offense- maybe put together a drive that takes advantage of Donald and Suh’s over-aggressiveness? Screen, draw, something has to work. They NEED a touchdown now. Patriots 3, Rams 0

8:29- Burkhead runs for two; 2nd & 8…

7:52- Illegal shift, and the Patriots continue to play like garbage on offense. 2nd & 13…

7:22- Edelman for eight as Brady ducks to save his life; 3rd & 5…

6:41- Just another terrible play; why go deep to Hogan on the corner route? Why? This is hard to watch because New England should be winning this game big. The Rams are lucky to be in this, which always leads to weird endings. Wake up, McDaniels, and the offense, or this will be yet ANOTHER missed opportunity. How about running Michel a little more? Wow, I’m just blown away by the way this game has been called on offense. Patriots 3, Rams 0

6:28- Reynolds for a gain of seven; 2nd & 3…

6:02- Anderson picks up the Rams 4th 1st down of the night; 1st & 10…

5:36- Cooks for 14, and here they come. The Patriots offense just took to long, and now the Rams are finally figuring out the Patriots defense.

4:55- Anderson runs for three more; 2nd & 7…

4:25- Incomplete pass due to great pressure; 3rd & 7, can the defense do it again??

4:17- Woods for 15, and this is bad news for New England. Rams have a 1st & 10 from the NE 29…timeout, Rams.

3:42- Cooks was wide open for six, but McCourty came out of nowhere to break up the pass. That play was incredible. WOW!

3:28- Three yard catch by Anderson; 3rd & 7….

2:50- SACK!! Hightower and Van Noy make a huge play, and now the FG is 53 yards…

2:11- Kick is good, and we have a tie game. Here comes the Patriots offense, a crew that has really done nothing all night (besides Edelman, the MVP if they win the game.) Patriots 3, Rams 3

2:11- Ball kicked through the end zone; Patriots offense will start at the 25…

2:06- White for a gain of one; where is Michel? 2nd & 9…

1:30- James White was held on the play, so the Patriots will pick up the 1st down. They need to spread these guys out and let Brady go to work. 1st & 10…

1:08- Well, what do you know? Michel gets it, and runs for 19. Yes, I want spread, but run too. 1st & 10 from the 50…

:35- Four more yards for Michel; 2nd & 6…

:09- Michel runs for nothing; Brady probably shouldn’t have checked out of a pass, which he appeared to do. The Rams disguised the defense very well. That is the end of three. Patriots 3, Rams 0

FOURTH QUARTER

14:57- I’m at a loss for words. No blocking, no chance. The Patriots can’t move. Allen with a great punt, and like I said earlier, the Patriots defense needs to win this game because the offense isn’t doing anything. Here we go…

14:38- Nine yard gain out of a broken play, not good. 2nd & 1…

14:08- False start. offense. Goff jumped, which is terrible. 2nd & 6…

13:47- Fumble, but the Pats just can’t get a break as it goes out of bounds; 3rd & 2…

13:23- Gain of eight by Cooks; 1st & 10…Rams are getting it going…

12:52- Loss of one on the Gurley catch; 2nd & 11…

12:23- Incomplete pass leads to another 3rd down; 3rd & 11 from the LA 22…

12:14- Huge penalty on the Patriots leads to a Rams 1st down; what a crap play by Gilmore, at the worst time. This is choke-job city.

12:09- Cooks again for 25 more; 1st & 10…

11:29- Huge holding call on LA after what appeared to be a 15-yard run; 1st & 20 from the 34….

11:01- Jones drills Goff for the tackle; 2nd & 22…

10:30- Throw down the field is incomplete, intended for Cooks; 3rd & 22…

10:20- Flowers drills Gurley for a loss of two, and the Rams bring out Hekker….he punted, again, and the Patriots offense will try this again. This could be the drive to a 6th championship. Patriots 3, Rams 3

9:42- Gronk for 18 on the wheel route from play action; 1st  & 10…

8:43- Edelman with a gain of 14 on the catch; 1st & 10…

8:11- Burkhead with a catch for seven; 2nd & 3…

7:35- Gronkowski with a HUGE catch! Pats at the two…

7:00- TOUCHDOWN, PATRIOTS!! Michel blasts it in from two yards out, and the offense finally explodes when they need it. Can the defense continue to do what they’ve done all night? This may come down to the Patriots pass rush vs. the Rams offensive line. If New England can get a stop, they are in business. Patriots 10, Rams 3

6:52- Cooks with a screen for 15 yards; great design, Flowers almost got him. Defense, LET’S GO!!! 1st & 10…

6:08- One-yard gain by Gurley; 2nd & 9…

5:29- Van Noy with great pressure forces the quick throw and incompletion; 3rd & 9…

5:24- 13 yard gain by Reynold for a huge 1st down; can NE keep them out of the end zone??

4:54- Woods with a gain of 15 to set the Rams up at the Patriots 27…1st & 10…

4:24- Incomplete pass to Cooks in the end zone; 2nd & 10…

4:17- INTERCEPTION!! Gilmore makes the huge play, and the offense will take over at their own four yard line. WOW!

3:50- Gain of one; 2nd & 9…

3:30- HUGE run by SONY!! 26 yard run! 1st & 10…

2:47- Huge hands to the face called on the Rams giving the Pats another 1st down. 1st & 10 from the 38…

2:43- Michel runs for three; 2nd & 7…

2:28- Burkhead runs for 26 yards! 1st down! Timeout, Rams, their final timeout.

2:25- Stupid penalty by New England, who basically just gave the Rams a timeout. Damn, stop killing yourselves. Obvious call on both penalties too; come on, guys, finish this!! 2nd & 6. The refs just helped LA…seriously. 2nd & 6…

2:00- Michel runs for five. and the Patriots are THREE FEET AWAY FROM THEIR 6TH SUPER BOWL!! THREE FEET!! GET THAT 1ST DOWN!! 3RD & 1…TWO-MINUTE WARNING…

1:48- He was short, and now they are faced with a decision. Do you go, or kick the field goal?? 4th & inches…damn, this is a tough call to make…they are going for it…maybe.

1:16- Gostkowski is on to try the field goal; this is a bit hairy…

1:09- THE FIELD GOAL IS GOOD!! THE PATRIOTS TAKE A 10-POINT LEAD!! Patriots 13, Rams 3

1:06- Incomplete pass, and the Rams called for holding. 1st & 20 from their own 15 with the clock dwindling on their title hopes…

:57- Woods for 11, 1st & 10…

:37- Cooks for 24; 1st & 10…

:21- Incomplete pass, and now we should see Hail of Mary time…or maybe a field goal attempt? Here comes the deep throw….

:08- No Good! No Good!! The Patriots are the Super Bowl Champions for the 6th time!! What an amazing performance by the defense, and the Patriots win their 3rd title in five seasons!!

FINAL SCORE- NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 13, LOS ANGELES RAMS 3

Thank you for all your support this season! I’m going to go celebrate, and you all should do the same! Your New England Patriots are the World Champions…again.

2018 SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS- NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS