New England Patriots’ Stephon Gilmore, right, intercepts a pass intended for Los Angeles Rams’ Brandin Cooks (12) during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl 53 football game Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
ATLANTA — For those who may have dozed off … the Patriots have won the Super Bowl.
New England topped the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in a game that dragged the high-def NFL back to the days of black-and-white TV. It was the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in the 53-year history of the game.
Tom Brady captured his record sixth NFL title by throwing for 262 yards, without a touchdown. The Patriots matched the Steelers for most Super Bowl wins, with six.
Julian Edelman caught 10 passes for 141 yards; he was the day’s only consistent offensive threat.
Brady engineered the game’s lone touchdown drive —a five-play, 69-yard march punctuated by an over-the-shoulder, 29-yard throw into the hands of tight end Rob Gronkowski. On the next play, Sony Michel scored on a 2-yard plunge with 7 minutes to play for a 10-3 lead.
But the real stars of this game were the New England defenders, who smothered Rams quarterback Jared Goff, holding him to 229 yards that felt like less.
After New England’s score, Goff moved the Rams down to the New England 28 with 4:30 left. But the third-year quarterback threw one up for grabs near the end zone and cornerback Stephon Gilmore stepped in front for the interception.
The Rams, who averaged 32.9 points a game this season, joined the Miami Dolphins —from Super Bowl 6 in 1972— as the only the second team not to muster a touchdown in the title game.
This story will be updated.
New England Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski (87) catches a pass in front of Los Angeles Rams’ Marcus Peters (22) and Cory Littleton (58) during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl 53 football game Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
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