Super Bowl 53: What are the keys to a Patriots victory?
1. Run the ball and control the clock
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
The Patriots found a winning formula over the last two weeks of the regular season, feeding Sony Michel the ball and controlling time of possession en route to easy victories over the Bills and the Jets. They used that exact same strategy to great effect against the Chargers in the divisional round and then against the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
So why would they deviate now in Super Bowl 53, especially against a Rams defense that has shown real vulnerability in defending the run?
Los Angeles ranked No. 23 in rushing defense during the regular season, and the 5.1 yards they surrendered per attempt was dead-last in the NFL.
In fairness, they’ve shown vast signs of improvement in the playoffs, holding both Ezekiel Elliott’s Cowboys and Mark Ingram/Alvin Kamara’s Saints to less than 100 rushing yards combined. In wins over both teams, the Rams lowered their opponent’s rushing average to 2.3 yards per attempt – a major upgrade over the staggering 5.1 from the regular season.
Still, the Patriots aren’t the Cowboys or the Saints. With all due respect to both teams, New England isn’t a newcomer to postseason football – they won’t abandon the run game easily, especially not this year. Not with their most talented trio in years at the position: Sony Michel, Rex Burkhead, and James White are a 1-2-3 punch that opposing defenses have yet to find a way to stop.
Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips is a savvy and accomplished football mind, but even he must know the strengths and weakness of his own troops. Strengths: pass rush and secondary play. Weaknesses: run-stuffing and linebacker support. If Donald and Suh are tangled up trying to bring Brady down, that frees up screen passes, bootlegs, and running back draws that the soft middle part of the L.A. defense simply isn’t built to defend.
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Super Bowl 53 is chalk-full of intriguing matchups: the old guard versus the new; defensive genius versus offensive innovation; game-wrecking pass pressure versus one of the coolest, calmest quarterbacks in history. We should see plenty of fireworks on Sunday, but if the New England Patriots focus in on finding success in these five key areas, they should have no problem dispatching the Los Angeles Rams and winning a sixth NFL championship.