Patriots win in Super Bowl LIII proves ‘D’ wins championships
Commentary
It’s the biggest game of the year. A game that people look forward to. Millions of people from all over the world watch. A game to determine the National Football League champions.
There was a problem though. It was the lowest scoring Super Bowl in the history of the game, which led to the Twitterverse calling it the dreaded B-word — boring.
However, the people calling the game boring missed the key parts that made the game exciting. This Super Bowl was a defensive masterpiece. The game also set history with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick winning their sixth championship together.
The Patriots and Rams are two of the league’s most exciting teams to watch. Each likes to put up points. Super Bowl LIII was predicted to be one of the highest scoring games, but it turned out to be the complete opposite.
The Patriots beat the Rams 13-3, a score that would put most fans to sleep if it were just a regular season game. If you like watching high scoring football, then yes, this game was boring. There weren’t many big plays. There was only one touchdown. The ball was punted on almost every possession.
But looked at as a showcase of defense, the game looks very different. Defense is a skill that often gets overlooked in the modern game, but this Super Bowl showed how important defense is to a championship team. I used to hear the saying, “Defense wins championships,” but I never really understood it. I mean, the offense scores the majority of the points, but the defense is really the key factor in most games — it showed during this one.
With two teams having such amazing offensive firepower, it is hard to imagine having a score so low, but the defensive execution was impressive. Both the Patriots and the Rams constantly put pressure on the quarterbacks. The ball had to be released quickly every time it was snapped. That led to either poor throws or fantastic coverage. The wide receivers had trouble finding space up the field to catch the ball. The defenses were tight — and they had to be in order to stop offenses like the Patriots and Rams. The Patriots defense was the key to their victory.
Nothing is more exciting than seeing history being made. Both Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have had amazing careers, and they go into the record books with their sixth Super Bowl win together, tying the Pittsburg Steelers for the most Super Bowls in history. It is hard to imagine a team winning six Super Bowls, but it is even harder to imagine that the coach and the quarterback would remain the same for all six. It is an accomplishment that will live on in the history books for eternity, and we got to watch it happen.
So, let online trolls and pundits continue to talk about how low scoring the game was, continue to mention that it was boring to watch. Let them be disappointed that the Patriots won the Super Bowl again.
I am going to remember that this was a game for the record books. I will remember that this was some of the best defense ever played. I will be grateful that I was alive to experience Super Bowl LIII.
Story by Scott Sayre, UP contributor