ATLANTA _ Youth will have to wait a bit longer to be served.
Thirty-three-year-old coach Sean McVay and his 24-year-old quarterback Jared Goff may have taken the regular season by storm and become the prevailing narrative in the NFL in 2018. But this is the Super Bowl, kids, and as long as Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are around it's still their time of year.
So hold off on those changing-of-the-guard stories. Scratch those end of the Patriots' reign of dominance thoughts. And wash from your mind any thoughts about who other than this coach and this quarterback might be the best ever.
Belichick (now the oldest head coach to win a Super Bowl) designed a defensive gameplan to make the high-powered Rams look feeble and hold them without a touchdown, Brady (now the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl) came to life in the fourth quarter just when it was needed most, and the Patriots beat the Rams, 13-3, in Super Bowl LIII.
When the confetti flew, the whippersnappers were whipped and the geezers were giddy.
It was the sixth Super Bowl win for the coach-quarterback combo; no franchise has more.
Brady broke a tie with Charles Haley for the most Super Bowl titles by a player, the first ever to put earn a ring for his OTHER thumb. Belichick moved into a tie with George Halas and Curly Lambeau for the most NFL championships by a head coach. The Patriots, who won their first Super Bowl 17 years ago against these Rams, are tied with the Steelers for most in the history of the big game.
It took exactly 53 minutes for the first touchdown to be scored. It came on a 2-yard run by rookie Sony Michel with 7:00 remaining to give the Patriots a 10-3 lead, but it was set up by some very familiar connections. Starting at their own 32, and with the pro-Pats crowd chanting the name of their favorite quarterback, Brady hit Julian Edelman for 17 yards, Rob Gronkowski for 13, Rex Burkhead for 7, then Gronkowski again for 29 as he made a tumbling grab between three defenders to get to the 2. On the first snap of the game by either team in the red zone, Michel took the handoff up the middle for the score.
The Rams had a chance to answer and drove to the Patriots' 27 as Goff began to hit receivers he was missing early in the game. On first-and-10 from the 27 Goff lofted a pass for Brandin Cooks in the end zone but the former Patriots receiver dropped the ball, absorbing a hit by safety Duron Harmon. On the next play the Rams tried to go in the same area of the field but Goff's pass came up short and was picked off by Stephon Gilmore at the 4 with 4:17 remaining.
Stephen Gostkowski's 41-yard field goal attempt with 1:12 left iced the game. Greg Zuerlein's 48-yard attempt for the Rams with 5 seconds left was wide left.
As the second half began, there had been more Maroon (5) on the field than total points (3).
After a season in which offenses ruled, and a year after the Super Bowl had more total yardage than any game in NFL history, the first half of this one was dominated by the defenses. The Patriots' 3-0 lead made it the lowest-scoring first half since the Steelers led the Vikings 2-0 at halftime of Super Bowl IX.
At least the Patriots were able to move the ball. Julian Edelman had seven first-half catches for 93 yards, but Brady's first pass of the game was intercepted by Corey Littleton. The Pats had a chance to take a lead in the first quarter but Stephen Gostkowski missed a 46-yard field-goal attempt. He redeemed himself in the second quarter with a 42-yarder. The Patriots had a chance to score again in the final minutes when they drove to the Rams' 32, but on fourth-and-1 Brady threw an incompletion.
The Rams could barely function on offense. They had 57 total yards and two first downs. Running back Todd Gurley, whom the Rams insisted was completely healthy, carried just three times for 10 yards. And when they got the ball back with 1:13 left in the half following that fourth-down fail by the Pats, they had a three-and-out and had to punt. It was the first time they were shut out in the first half since Sean McVay took over as coach two years ago.
The third quarter was mostly as defensively dominated and offensively challenged for both teams, but the Rams did manage to tie the score at 3 with 2:11 left in the period on Greg Zuerlein's 53-yard field goal. The Rams, though, had a great opportunity to take the lead just prior to the kick. On first-and-10 from the 29, wide receiver Brandin Cooks was wide open in the end zone, standing flat-footed and waiting to be noticed by Jared Goff. By the time the quarterback threw the ball to him, Patriots safety Jason McCourty had rushed over to break it up.
Three plays later, Zuerlein kicked the second-longest field goal in Super Bowl history to end a streak of eight Rams possessions that had ended in a punt.
For the first time in Super Bowl history, no touchdown was scored in the first three quarters. The third quarter ended with the fewest combined points through 45 minutes in Super Bowl history, breaking the record set in Super Bowl IX when the Steelers led the Vikings 9-0.
