(2)Rams (13-3) Vs (2)Patriots (11-5)

Two weeks ago I predicted the Super Bowl would be played between the Rams and Chiefs. I only got half of that right because the Patriots managed to pull out a win in OT out in Kansas City. The oddsmakers opened this game as either Rams by -1 or at pickem and the line was quickly bet in favor of the Patriots as they are currently favored by -2.5 at most sportsbooks. I was listening to Sirius XM NFL radio in my car over the last few weeks as they discuss everything leading up to the game. It seems like nothing but a Brady-Belichick lovefest about how they just figure it out and get wins. While this is true for the most part, it hasn't really rang true when they've made the Super Bowl. Since their undefeated regular season run over a decade ago the Patriots are 2-3 in the Super Bowl and arguably should be 0-5, both of their wins came after incredibly poor coaching decisions from the other side. They were down 10 against Seattle in the 4th quarter before coming back and Seattle had the ball right at the goal line with under a minute to go in the game looking to punch it in for a win, but instead of running the ball with the one of the best RBs in the league at the time, they threw a poorly drawn up slant play from the 2 yard line that resulted in an interception which ended up clinching the game for the Patriots. In the other win they were getting drummed by the Falcons, down by 25 points and made an incredible miracle comeback because the Falcons ran dumb plays essentially the entire 4th quarter. They should have been running the ball, running the clock down to almost 0 before running a play and they just weren't doing any of that. Some say the Patriots defense stopped the run, but if you watched that game and saw the numbers you know that wasn't true, the Falcons just didn't commit to the run to protect their lead and if they had, even a little bit, it would have chewed up so much clock the Patriots never would have had a chance to come all the way back.

The Rams

I look at their players on both sides of the ball and the Rams are full of stars. Stars Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh anchor the Rams defensive line. Todd Gurley and CJ Anderson make up their formidable backfield, although Gurley has looked like a shell of what he was during the season in these playoffs but Anderson has been able to more than make up for it thus far. In this game their backfield will be important because defending the run is one of the Patriots biggest weaknesses. Their secondary is finally healthy again with the return of Marcus Peters and Aquib Talib. Talib starred in the Denver secondary that had success beating the Patriots earlier in the decade. They also have Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator who was in Denver with Talib the year Denver won the Super Bowl. Jared Goff isn't a great QB but he's one of the better QBs in the league and he has weapons all over the field. They are without receiver Cooper Kupp but they have Brandin Cooks, Robert Woods, and Josh Reynolds at their disposal and those guys can be threats downfield at any time.

The Patriots

The Patriots have of course star QB Tom Brady, TE Rob Gronkowski, and WR Julian Edelman. In their backfield they have Sony Michel who is starting to come into his own and become a star RB. In both playoff games Michel has gone over 100 yards rushing. If he can continue that level of production in the Super Bowl it will give the Patriots a very real chance of winning this game. Tom Brady needs no introduction, he has won 5 Super Bowls and orchestrated comebacks in a few games mentioned above that seemed all but lost. Rob Gronkowski is one the best TEs of all time, but he hasn't been his usual self this year. Against the Chiefs though he had a great game grabbing 6 catches for 79 yards including an amazing sideline catch with a defender all over him to get the Patriots a first and goal and set up the go ahead TD late in the game. Julian Edelman has served as Bradys security blanket, any time the play is breaking down, or they need a few yards for a first down, he's there, running a crisp route giving Brady an easy throw for a completion and a first down. Outside of these stars though the Patriots don't have many players who stand out. Their offense has a lot of guys who end up coming up big for them but aren't there game in and game out. Guys like Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett, James White, and Rex Burkhead. These guys have some great games for the Patriots from time to time, but it's usually a focused game plan by Belichick to use them over and over again to exploit a weakness in their opponent.

The Game

Analyzing the two teams I feel like the Rams are just the better squad here. The line on this game reminds me of the Denver/Seattle Super Bowl that happened about 5 years ago where Seattle just blew out the Broncos. Seattle opened as a favorite, was quickly bet into an underdog role and just absolutely steamrolled the Broncos in the game, winning 43-8. I don't expect such a lopsided result this time around because the Patriots are great at game planning and execution and while they may not have as many stars on their side, they have some play makers and I'm sure they will find some weaknesses to exploit in the Rams to keep this game relatively close. I just think the Rams are the better team with the better defense in this game and I see no reason why they don't win it. Final Score prediction, Rams 34 Patriots 24.