Super Bowl LIII Preview

Trevi Alickolli, Social Media Editor

Following a historic set of football games during Conference Championship weekend, the New England Patriots will face the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII for the right to be crowned champions on Sunday.

Both the AFC and NFC championships required overtime to decide the victors for the first time in NFL history, per NFL Research.

If those games are any indication, we can all expect an excellent Super Bowl performance by both teams and a game worth the watch despite being a fan of either team or not.

This is the second time the Patriots and the Rams will meet in the Super Bowl. In fact, Feb. 3 will mark the 17-year anniversary of their last meeting, when the underdog Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI 20-17 on a last-second field goal by Adam Vinatieri against the then St. Louis Rams.

Almost two decades later, nearly everything is different except Bill Belichick and Tom Brad, which are the only constants.

This time they will face the young superstar head coach-quarterback duo in Sean McVay and Jared Goff.

Both teams have played great football all postseason, led by their prolific offensive attacks and opportunistic defenses.

During the postseason, they are first and second in offensive total yards-per-game (YPG). New England with 511.0 and Los Angeles with 418.5, according to NFL.com statistics.

The YPG may weigh in New England’s favor but looking closer, the two team’s yards per play is nearly identical, 5.9 and 5.8 in favor of New England.

New England’s offense has led this team to their fourth Super Bowl appearance in five years because of a stellar running attack and nearly flawless offensive line.

Sony Michel, the Patriots rookie running back, is leading the NFL in rushing yards this postseason after a regular season slowed by injuries. Michel has 242 rushing yards and five touchdowns, also leading the league.

Brady has the most passing years in the postseason with 691, which can be attributed to being kept clean by the offensive line. The Patriots veteran quarterback has dropped back to pass 90 times and has not been sacked. Pressure on Brady is going to be key for the Rams.

During the recent offseason, Los Angeles went all out to boost their defensive line, adding the talent of Ndamukong Suh and Dante Fowler Jr. to increase pressure on the quarterback.

But the all-star on the D-line is Aaron Donald, who led the league with 20.5 sacks in the regular season. He will no doubt be a point of emphasis for the Patriots’ offensive strategy.

Even with a star-studded defense, the Rams offense may be the better bunch out of the two.

Led by the creative mind of McVay, this offense includes a 1000-yard rusher and leading touchdown scorer in Todd Gurley and 2000-yard receivers.

If the Patriots hope to win, the keys to victory are establishing the run, continued dominance of the offensive line and getting at the very least one or two defensive stops.

The keys for the Rams are getting Gurley back in his rhythm and staying disciplined on defense.

Neither of these teams are supposed to be here. New England was an underdog in Kansas City and Los Angeles was a blown call away from being sent home against New Orleans. But they are here nonetheless.

On Sunday, we will find out who will finish with a fairytale season and who goes home heartbroken.