ATLANTA, Ga. — The New England Patriots used a late touchdown, a fourth quarter interception and timely running to chew the clock and defeat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta.
It is the sixth championship in the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era in New England.
The Patriots led the low-scoring affair 3-0 at halftime. The Rams got on the board in the third quarter and tied it on a 53-yard field goal from Greg Zuerlein.
New England’s Sony Michel scored the game’s only touchdown, getting into the endzone on a 2-yard run with 7:00 left in the game. The Patriots intercepted Rams quarterback Jared Goff during to end a promising drive for the Rams. The Patriots took care of it from there, running down the clock and getting a 41-yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski with 1:12 remaining to take a 13-3 lead.
The Rams got the ball back and drove down the field for a 48-yard field goal attempt from Zuerlein with five seconds left. It was wide left, and Brady took a knee after the change of possession to run out the clock for good.
The 13-3 affair was the lowest-scoring game in the 53-year history of the Super Bowl.
Brady finished 21-35 with 262 yards and an interception. He didn’t throw a touchdown pass as the Rams’ defense held its own. Michel ran for 94 yards on 18 carries, including the go-ahead touchdown. Julian Edelman caught 10 passes for 141 yards–good enough to get him Super Bowl MVP honors–and Rob Gronkowski had 6 catches for 87 yards.
For the Rams, Goff, constantly hurried during the game, completed 19 of 38 passes for 229 yards and a game-killing interception. Running backs Todd Gurley and C.J. Anderson combined for 57 yards on 17 carries. Brandin Cooks caught 8 passes for 120 yards while Robert Woods reeled in 5 receptions for 70 yards.
The Rams were the highest-scoring team in the NFL this season, averaging 32.9 points per game. They joined the Miami Dolphins (Super Bowl 6, 1972) as only the second team in NFL history to fail to score a touchdown in the title game.