All of Brady’s other championships have come after the score was tied, or the Patriots were trailing, in the fourth quarter. In those situations, Brady was 45 for 59 with 503 yards and three touchdowns and no interceptions. Taking over at his 31-yard line with 9:49 left, Brady connected on four straight passes for 67 yards, including a 29-yard beauty to Rob Gronkowski down the left side that preceded Michel’s touchdown, his sixth of the playoffs. “I’ll tell you this,” Gronkowski said, “it was the most satisfying year I’ve ever been a part of. How we came together, the obstacles we had to overcome, the grind from the beginning of training camp to now, it’s just surreal.” Brady, at age 41, finished 21 of 35 for 262 yards, with more than half of that total — 141 — going to Julian Edelman. A year after missing the Patriots’ Super Bowl loss to Philadelphia with a knee injury and being suspended for the first four games of this season for violating the N.F.L.’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs, Edelman was selected as the game’s most valuable player. “He just played the best game he has all year,” Brady said. In a league designed for parity, Brady and Belichick have destroyed it. Together, they have made nine Super Bowls, including the last three. The Miami Dolphins, from 1972-74, and Buffalo Bills, from 1991-94, accomplished that feat before the Patriots, but neither had New England’s staying power. Only one other franchise has won six Super Bowls, and it took the Pittsburgh Steelers 34 years to collect their Lombardi Trophies. The Patriots needed half as long.<doc-sep>The audience numbers for this year's game, which was the lowest scoring in the game's 53-year history, clocked in with a 44.9 rating in households. That was the lowest rating since the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals in the 2009 Super Bowl. ADVERTISEMENT For context, last year's thrilling 41-33 upset victory by the Philadelphia Eagles over the Patriots delivered a 47.4 rating, or 103.4 million viewers. In 2017's matchup between the Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons, 111.3 million tuned in to see New England erase a 28-3 second-half deficit to top the Atlanta Falcons in overtime. On Sunday, 57.4 percent of Nielsen homes in Boston were tuned in to watch the Patriots play in their ninth Super Bowl in 17 years. In Los Angeles, just 44.6 percent of Nielsen homes watched the game. The Rams moved back to L.A. in 2016. Wide receiver Julian Edelman was named this year's Super Bowl MVP for hauling in 10 catches for 141 yards. Edelman became just the second Patriots player who isn't Tom Brady to win the award. The last Patriots MVP who wasn't its quarterback was Deion Branch in 2004. An estimated 100 million viewers watched the Patriots defeat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in the Super Bowl from Atlanta on CBS Sunday night, marking the lowest ratings the big game has seen since 2009, according to preliminary numbers from Nielsen Media Research.<doc-sep>NBA action on Sunday was over by time Super Bowl LIII kicked off in Atlanta between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams. It turned out to be the lowest-scoring Super Bowl ever. Really, it was! The Patriots defeated the Rams 13-3 in a game that featured multiple interceptions and missed field goal attempts but only one touchdown. With the trade deadline looming (and one trade already agreed upon earlier in the day), restless NBA fans wondered if there would be some news to shake up Super Bowl Sunday. In that way, Los Angeles Lakers All-Star LeBron James was all of us: Man where Shams, Woj, Haynes, McMenamin at????.... ����‍♂️ - LeBron James (@KingJames) February 4, 2019 Watching these teams score about as many points combined as you did in the 5 weeks you were out rehabbing. https://t.co/GyyCJlAIJE - Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 4, 2019 That wasn't James' only comment during the game, as he took notice of Maroon 5 (and Travis Scott) at halftime: Soooooooo...... This halftime show though. That's all for Travis or nah?!?!?! �� - LeBron James (@KingJames) February 4, 2019 The game was in Atlanta, and while the Atlanta Hawks kept fans engaged throughout the game, the Charlotte Hornets couldn't help but point out that they have a Sunday show lined up in two weeks: Sooo, how about that first half... - Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 4, 2019 If y'all want some sporting event excitement, we're going for our third win in a row Tuesday vs. the Clippers. - Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) February 4, 2019 Y'all good with that halftime show? - Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 4, 2019 Heyyyy! Someone scored! - Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 4, 2019 Other NBA teams and players noted the low quality of offensive play and other general Super Bowl observations: This a good hockey game - Reggie Bullock (@ReggieBullock35) February 4, 2019 . @JHarden13 generally scores 3 points on his first step back jumper of the game #mvp #ramsfail - Daryl Morey (@dmorey) February 4, 2019 The real MVP's of the game gotta be the punters forreal! - Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) February 4, 2019 We'll stick to hoops, but #SuperBowl Sunday's got us thinking @_bigjayy_ and @SDinwiddie_25 would be a nice QB/WR combo pic.twitter.com/E01UEbgupe - Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) February 3, 2019 Not the first bad decision Jared Goff has made... #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/Tyeybw3ntD - Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) February 4, 2019 basketball better - Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 4, 2019 Each team has scored HOW many points?? #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/ye0W092BTQ - Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) February 4, 2019 Go Browns ����‍♂️ - Larry Nance Jr (@Larrydn22) February 4, 2019 In the end, the Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady secured their sixth Super Bowl win, eliciting a response of respect from the NBA as well. . @Patriots like that team that runs the floor in open gym and never loses and u hate em...unless you them. Champs. Again!!!!!!!!!!!! @BumpNrunGilm0re what size ring u wear? #INTKING - marcus smart (@smart_MS3) February 4, 2019<doc-sep>Related Everything You Need to Know About Super Bowl LIII Every week this NFL season, we will celebrate the electric plays, investigate the colossal blunders, and explain the inexplicable moments of the most recent slate. Welcome to Winners and Losers. Which one are you? Winner: Tom Brady, I Guess? Tom Brady’s legacy received another boost, as if it needed one. Brady’s case as the greatest quarterback of all time was already rock solid. Now he has too many rings to fit on one hand. He was already the first quarterback with five championships, and now he has six. He is one of just a few quarterbacks to play a snap at age 41, and he won the damn Super Bowl. If Brady never makes it back to this stage, the images of Sunday night’s win will forever serve as a crowning moment, a concise monument to the unprecedented excellence he has managed for longer than anybody before him. But the Patriots’ championship, stunningly, wasn’t won by Brady’s greatness. In fact, Sunday’s game was one of his worst performances of the season and arguably his worst-ever Super Bowl appearance. Brady got this win because the Patriots defense absolutely dominated a Rams offense that spent most of the season demolishing opponents with a revolutionary scheme that convinced the rest of the league to hire Sean McVay’s assistants, acquaintances, and ex-roommates to head-coaching jobs. Both defenses turned the game into a waking hellscape, the lowest-scoring Super Bowl ever. But the Rams defense eventually broke, allowing 10 points in the final 10 minutes, and thus Brady emerged victorious. Brady actually had a pretty mediocre game, going 26-for-49 for 273 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Actually wait, my bad—that was Matt Hasselbeck’s line in Seattle’s 2006 Super Bowl loss to the Steelers. Brady was worse, going 21-of-35 for just 262 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. Here’s that interception, a pass which came out of his hand wobbling like a punt kicked to make it tough for a returner to catch. Shocking start by Tom Brady in Atlanta! Throws - 1 Interceptions - 1 Yards - 0#SuperBowl⁠ ⁠ pic.twitter.com/MTMak601xq — BetBright (@BetBright) February 3, 2019 It was the first of Brady’s nine Super Bowl appearances in which he failed to throw for a touchdown. He certainly was more deserving of a ring last year—when he threw for a Super Bowl–record 505 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions but lost because his team’s defense couldn’t stop Nick Foles. It was only the third time in 19 games this year Brady failed to throw a touchdown, and the only time in which he also threw an interception. Of course, nobody will care that Brady’s win tonight was a stunning dud at the tail end of an exceptional season and career. Nobody drags 37-year-old John Elway for putting up 123 yards with no touchdowns and a pick in Denver’s Super Bowl XXXII win, or 39-year-old Peyton Manning for putting up 141 yards with no touchdowns and a pick in Denver’s Super Bowl 50 win. (Denver: Where Hall of Fame QBs ride off into the sunset with weird, washed championships.) Brady deserves his unparalleled legacy. Sometimes, even the great ones get wins they don’t fully deserve. Loser: Basically Any Human Who Watched This Game I can tolerate bad things, but not dull things. And I can’t remember a duller Super Bowl than this one, a movie that featured the same plot as a bunch we’ve seen before, but significantly less action. It’s like if they decided to make a Taken 6, but in it Liam Neeson’s character just takes an 80-minute nap and runs errands before half-heartedly dispatching a few henchmen. Sunday night’s game should have been a thriller. Los Angeles scored the second-most points in the league this season, and New England was fourth. Instead we got the lowest-scoring Super Bowl ever at just 16 points, smashing the previous record of 21 set all the way back in 1973. And this game didn’t even seem like it would have 16 points until late—the score was 3-3 at the end of the third quarter. Great defense can be thrilling, when explosive pass rushers leave quarterbacks fearing every moment; when omnipresent defensive backs swoop in for logic-defying interceptions; when opportunistic ball hawks forcefully separate offensive players from the ball. Four drives ended in scores, two ended in turnovers, and 14 ended in punts. And both turnovers stemmed more from ghastly passes than breathtaking coverage. Let us not defame majestic waterfowl by saying this pass Jared Goff threw was a duck. Unlike this throw, ducks are quite good at flying. Sunday night’s game wasn’t even fun like that. It seemed less about the opportunities each defense created and more about the ones each offense was too inept to seize. And yet, this still could’ve been fun. I would’ve settled for a bad game if it meant we got some fresh experience—some new fan base experiencing the greatest thrill in sports, some new player whose legacy was made. Instead, the Patriots won. Brady is to football what Liam Neeson is to action movies, but this was his dullest performance yet. Winner: Suspensions For the second time in three seasons, a Patriots player won Super Bowl MVP after being suspended by the league to start the season. Two years ago it was Tom Brady, for smashing his cell phone with a hammer, or something—I never quite did find out what the exact reasoning was there. This year it was Julian Edelman, who was suspended for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. It was never quite explained what Edelman did—the league can’t formally say, it never leaked, and Edelman’s only comment was “I got to follow the protocols a little better.” But he admitted responsibility for whatever it was he did. In a game devoid of offense, Edelman had a monster night. His 10 receptions are tied for the eighth most of all time in the Super Bowl, his 141 receiving yards are 11th most ever. No matter what coverage the Rams ran, Edelman got open. Often wiiiide open.<doc-sep>
It’s appropriate that the lowest-scoring Super Bowl ever saw an interception on the first pass and set a record for the longest punt in a title game. In a season with the second-most points scored per game in NFL history, it was defense, not offense, that ruled the day. Throughout the 13-3 New England victory, the Patriots frustrated the Rams’ offensive plans, pressuring quarterback Jared Goff into off-target throws, ill-advised scrambles and finally — when it mattered most, with 4:19 left in the fourth quarter — a game-clinching interception. In holding Los Angeles to 3 points — which tied the 1971 Dolphins with the lowest point total in a Super Bowl — the Patriots were relentless in their pass rush. They blitzed an incredible 41 percent of the time, and Goff was pressured on 39 percent of his dropbacks, according to ESPN’s Stats & Information Group. And it wasn’t just the Patriots front six that made life difficult on the Rams; the Patriots secondary blanketed Los Angeles all night long. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Rams receivers had the worst separation when targeted by Goff since Sean McVay was named head coach. But this wasn’t a case of the Patriots defense — one that was middling most of the regular season — suddenly morphing into the 1985 Chicago Bears or the 2000 Baltimore Ravens. The Rams’ execution and play-calling were suspect as well. The Patriots held C.J. Anderson and Todd Gurley to 57 yards on the ground, and they did it without stacking the box. The Rams never faced a defensive front with more than seven men near the line of scrimmage — not even once in the game. Against a light box of six or fewer defenders, the Rams offensive line was able to generate only 21 rushing yards on six carries — a 3.5-yard average. That was 2.2 yards worse than their regular-season average of 5.7 and just a 10th of a yard more than the 3.4 yards per carry they averaged Sunday against a seven-man front. The Rams went from being the third-ranked rushing team in the league against these light and neutral defensive fronts — averaging 5.4 yards per carry in the regular season — to one that could muster only 3.4 in the biggest game of the year. Goff, who was hit five times in the game, was never able to find a consistent rhythm and frequently missed his target. Most notably, he was late on a pass in the third quarter, allowing safety Jason McCourty to break up a sure touchdown to a wide-open Brandin Cooks in the end zone. McVay, meanwhile, failed to aggressively push small edges, never going for it on fourth-and-short. The Rams also played sloppily, earning nine penalties for 65 yards to New England’s three for 20. Much was written about the experience gap between the two teams at coach and QB, and it showed. At one point, Goff forgot the snap count he called in the huddle and was flagged for a false start, an incredibly rare feat for an NFL quarterback. The net result of the Rams’ offensive futility was historic: They became only the second team in Super Bowl history not to score a touchdown, wasting a defensive effort that held Tom Brady and the Patriots to 13 points. And while there may be more to football than scoring points, it’s hard to argue that this Super Bowl was a shining example of compelling low-scoring football. Neither team was efficient on third down, with each converting just three opportunities into a new set of downs. A total of one play was run in the red zone by either team. The first half of the game was so uneventful that the two plays with the highest impact as measured by positive win probability added were punts by Johnny Hekker. In a season defined by high-scoring excitement, this Super Bowl could have been a showcase for explosive offensive efficiency. Instead we got nine Hekker punts and Maroon 5 in the halftime show. In short, it was one of the worst Super Bowls ever.