The Super Bowl’s nearly upon us. This is the game where stars are born and legacies are cemented. There’s Hall of Fame talent on both teams. Looking at both, the Rams look to have overall better talent while the Patriots, per usual, have the better scheme to beat anyone. In this match-up, will it be New England’s theme schemes or the talent and explosiveness of the Rams that’ll prevail? Or, maybe it will come down to the Sack Machine or the GOAT.
Los Angeles Rams
The player who will decide the game for the Rams is Aaron Donald, who might be the best defensive player of his generation. There have been a few interior defensive tackles who are pass-rushers, but Donald is dominant. He led the league with 20.5 sacks. His run support, while second to his pass rush ability, is still in the upper echelon of the league. Additionally, he can stop the run and pressure Brady and can do more to help deliver Los Angeles a victory than anyone.
“He’s pretty much unblockable,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said.
Donald will likely be named Defensive Player of the Year for the second, straight season. If the Rams win the big one, he could be one of the few defenders to be named Super Bowl MVP. He’s the most unstoppable force in Super Bowl LIII, and even if his numbers don’t show it, he’ll get double and triple-teamed to allow others to make plays.
New England Patriots
One of the most hated men in football outside of Boston is quarterback Tom Brady. Ironically, he might just be the best player at his position in NFL history. There’s no doubt who will make the biggest impact to win the game for New England. Brady’s about to play in his ninth Super Bowl. He’s played half his professional career in February. The Patriots have leaned heavily on the run lately, but if the game comes down to Brady, we’ve seen this movie before.
While there are big names on the Rams defense, they didn’t play well as a unit ranking 19th with 358.6 yards allowed-per-game in the regular season. There simply isn’t a quarterback you’d rather have in a postseason game. Brady may have started to lose a step or two, but he’s undoubtedly one of the best to ever play the game. Rest assured he’ll shoulder the load for New England, but this is nothing new.
