Northern Star Sports Staff predicts the Super Bowl
January 30, 2019
Jayce Eustice | Sports Editor: Rams win 35-27
Tom Brady’s quest for yet another Super Bowl ring is stopped by the offensive brilliance of head coach Sean McVay and third-year quarterback Jared Goff.
The Patriots will drive down the field and score a touchdown on their first possession of the game to take a quick lead. After a quick adjustment period, the Rams pass rush will start to pressure Brady and force him outside the pocket and into making bad throws.
The Rams secondary will grab two interceptions to give their offense great field position, resulting in easy scores. Brady gets a chance late in the fourth quarter to drive down and tie the game with his team down by 8, but the clock becomes his worst enemy.
Brady’s hail-mary attempt to tight end Rob Gronkowski drops in the endzone as time expires and the Rams take the narrow victory. Jared Goff passes for 300 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions to walk away with his first Super Bowl MVP.
Khobi Price | Assistant Sports Editor: Patriots win 28-24
It’s ironic that the New England Patriots could add to their legendary run with a sixth championship in Atlanta, a city whose hearts they broke, against the franchise they started their dynastic run against exactly 17 years ago.
Plenty has changed since the Patriots defeated the Rams 20-17 in Super Bowl XXXVI for the franchise’s first Super Bowl: FaceBook and Twitter were both launched, the original iPhone was released and Friends went from being one of the hottest TV on-air products to a show Netflix paid nearly $100 million to air re-runs.
However, one constant through nearly two decades has been the dominance of Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, who will have one of their most unique challenges ahead of them.
The Rams are led by Head Coach Sean McVay, whose innovation and daringness helped produce one of the most prolific offenses in the NFL. The Rams will look to pressure Brady with defensive tackles Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh, but New England’s offensive line will have a strong performance like it has all season.
I expect the Patriots to take an early lead, control the clock and squeak out a victory over the Rams who will do enough to make the game competitive, but not enough to prevent Brady and Belichick from hosting their sixth Lombardi Trophy.
James Krause | Reporter: Patriots win 28-21
This Super Bowl really feels like the present meeting the future. On one side, the veteran New England Patriots led by 41-year old Tom Brady and zen master Bill Belichick.
On the other side, the crafty young Los Angeles Rams led by babyface Sean McVay and his star-studded offense. Both teams have shown they’ve been able to adapt to their opponents in the playoffs.
For the Rams, they will look to send defensive linemen Aaron Donald and crew at Brady up the middle. The Patriots will look to pick apart the secondary of the Rams, by air and by ground with running back Sony Michel.
The Patriots have shown they are great at draining clock, which will help keep the high-flying offense of the Rams off the field. When they’re on the field, the Rams won’t have a 100 percent Todd Gurley, who has struggled in the postseason following a leg injury.
The killer for the Rams will be their secondary, who for as talented as they are, struggle with open field tackling. Sony Michel wins MVP and the Patriots walk out of Atlanta with another Super Bowl win.
Marcel Carrasco | Contributor: Patriots win 28-27
It’s been 17 years since the Patriots and Rams faced each other in Super Bowl XXVI. The then St. Louis Rams was led by Kurt Warner nicknamed “The Greatest Show on Turf” while Tom Brady emerged into a Pro-Bowl quarterback.
The Patriots beat the Rams that year 20-17 after Brady drove the Patriots to the Rams’s 30 yard line where Adam Vinatieri kicked the Super Bowl winning field goal.
Now, obviously Brady isn’t as agile or strong as he was but I believe he has enough in him to match Los Angeles’ tempo.
The Rams will jump to an early lead, but Brady and Belichick keep their cool. The Patriots’ bend but don’t break defense will come up huge with critical third-down stops.
Both quarterbacks pass for more than 300 yards, with Brady throwing for three touchdown passes to Jared Goff’s two. The Rams will have a potential game winning drive, but reliable Greg Zuerlein will miss the field goal, thus handing Brady his sixth ring.
Maddie Barrett | Contributor: Patriots win 28-21
After a recent move to the bright lights of Los Angeles, credit has to be given to what the Rams have been able to accomplish this season under the leadership of Sean McVay, but picking the Rams to win Super Bowl LIII is a tough one.
The Brady and Belichick-led Patriots have been in this moment several times before, and I expect them to overcome the high-powered Rams offense to get a win on the biggest stage once again.
Both teams have seen their defenses improve lately, but New England should have a slight edge and give Brady enough cushion to outscore the Rams.
Los Angeles might get their offense going early, but the Patriots answer back and get Brady, the greatest quarterback of all time, his sixth super bowl ring.
Justin Kelley | Contributor: Rams wins 31-28
Nearly twenty years ago these two teams met in one of the most intense Super Bowls in recent memory and Sunday’s match up could be even better.
Though time has passed the aspects of the games appear to be oddly similar, Goff is 24 which is the exact age Brady was when he took on the Rams in 2002. Like Brady did to the Rams in 2002, Goff is looking to dethrone one of the greatest dynasties in NFL history.
The Patriots that year took down a Rams team that boasted multiple Hall of Famers and brought new level of offensive domination.
The Rams look to return the favor with there explosive offensive against a Patriot defense who had issues controlling Kansas City.
If the Rams plan to end the Patriots domination star running back Todd Gurley will be key in winning Super Bowl LIII.