One of the most memorable conference championship weekends ever has made way for a star-studded Super Bowl matchup between Los Angeles and New England. Before putting money down on the big game, start here. We have a preview of the game, as well as our best betting predictions!
The most bet-on sports event in America is in just two weeks. Before we analyze the game, here's all the must-know details ahead of Super Bowl 53:
Bovada's opening odds have Los Angeles pegged as the three-point favorites. The moneyline has the Rams at -130 to become Super Bowl winners and Pats at +110. Meanwhile, the over/under total is stationed at 58 points. Keep close tabs on the aforementioned lines because they'll surely move during the next two weeks as money starts trickling in.
After season-long chatter about the Patriots' fallen dynasty, another comeback effort from Bill Belichick and Tom Brady has earned them their NFL-record ninth trip to the Super Bowl together. For Sean McVay and Jared Goff — both making their Super Bowl debut — they've been all the rave this season, as team after team tries to copy their winning formula.
That plot thickens when examing the age differences between the two groups. McVay, the youngest NFL coach in modern history at 33 years old, is exactly half of Belichick's age (66). Meanwhile, Brady is 17 years the senior of Jared Goff.
It's a role reversal of sorts for the Brady-led Patriots. The franchise's dynasty, that's resulted in five Super Bowl titles, actually began in 2002 Super Bowl against the Rams of all teams.
Way back then, Brady was the young signal caller with limitless potential in the same token that Goff is today. Moreover, the Rams — then from St. Louis, not Los Angeles — also came into the matchup with a trailblazing offense. This year's Rams' iteration is actually scoring more points per game (32.9) than the Greatest Show on Turf team (31.4).
Despite being 14-point underdogs, Brady engineered a come-from-behind victory to launch his legacy that game. Will Super Bowl 53 be deja vu?
Belichick suffocating the Greatest Show on Turf is one of his most masterful coaching jobs of all time. In that upset, Belichick discovered running back Marshawn Faulk was the key to the Rams' attack and game planned around him. Similarly this time around, Todd Gurley is the key cog for Los Angeles.
Shutting down Gurley might not be all that difficult, though. Despite racking up 21 touchdowns running and catching this year, Gurley has been on a downward slope as of late. He's rushed for under 50 yards in three of his past four games as injuries have hampered his performance. If Gurley can't get going, the Rams' play-action-heavy attack immediately becomes toned down.
Brady, who is unequivocally the GOAT, might have a rough going himself. The formula to beating Brady in big games, perfected twice before by the Giants, is to pressure him plenty. Thankfully for Los Angeles, no player creates more havoc for quarterbacks than Aaron Donald. The defensive lineman has an NFL-high 20.5 sacks this season which will surely win him his second straight Defensive Player of the Year honor. Both things considered, we're really in love with the under in this one.
We really hate betting against Brady and Belichick, but we're going to do just that. Up and down the roster, the Rams are the superior team. Belichick was outdone by a new-school coach a year ago in Doug Pederson and the same will happen again here via McVay. Just like every other Super Bowl featuring the Patriots, it'll come down to the wire, but Los Angeles prevails.
Picks: Los Angeles (-3) and under 58 points
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