The pain of the Rams’ Super Bowl 53 loss to the Patriots will linger for Rams fans and the players who blew the opportunity of a lifetime.
Super Bowl 53 turned out to be a defensive war between two teams very capable of putting up points. The Los Angeles Rams missed a great opportunity to defeat a dynasty. Losing totally changes the narrative about Sean McVay, Jared Goff, and trajectory of the Rams’ franchise.
Here are 3 Super Bowl sore spots that the Rams and their fans are sure to be rubbing today.
History Won’t Be Kind
History isn’t on the Rams side to get back to the Super Bowl anytime soon. The last time an NFC team went to back-to-back Super Bowls were in 2013 and 2014. Cam and the Carolina Panthers went in 2015 season and never returned. Atlanta got there in 2016 and it’s been downhill ever since. The Eagles shot their shot last year and hit the bullseye last year. That’s how you got to do it, because unless you are the Pats and your path to the Super Bowl runs through the weak ass AFC East, it’s unlikely that a team is getting back to the big show two years in a row.
Brian Flores vs. Sean McVay Part 1
The Rams offense behind the newly anointed genius Sean McVay was stifled by the unheralded young genius, Patriots defensive play-caller and Brooklyn’s own Brian Flores. Flores, who will be announced as Miami Dolphins head coach today, won the battle of the babies.
The Rams had zero snaps in the red zone in Super Bowl LIII. The Patriots only had one, but it was all they needed. #SCFacts pic.twitter.com/ezokTuRU2w
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 4, 2019
While Belichick designs the schemes, Flores showed off his football acumen by calling a masterful game and limiting the NFL’s No. 2 offense to 3 points in the Patriots’ 13-3 win in Super Bowl 53.
Agent Sean Kiernan from @SelectSports who represents new #Dolphins coach Brian Flores, worked overnight to finalize terms on a contract. He’ll be at the Dolphins facility early with GM Chris Grier and VP Brandon Shore. Both sides expect a signed contract before today's presser.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 4, 2019
“I’m pretty numb right now, but there’s no other way to say it: I got out-coached,” McVay said. “I didn’t do nearly good enough for our football team.”
Mystery of Todd Gurley
No one will confirm that Gurley was limited by late season injuries, but that’s the only explanation there is. You don’t go from carrying one of the biggest loads in the game and being an MVP candidate to getting 14 combined carries and two catches for 2 yards in the NFC Championship and Super Bowl. Very strange that McVay basically ignored his No. 1 weapon.
Sean McVay explains the lack of using Todd Gurley was more about McVay’s lack of getting a good feel for the flow of the game than anything else. #SuperBowlLIII pic.twitter.com/972Y6g6xe7
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) February 4, 2019
If you told me Gurley was going to produce those stats in the two most important games of the season, I would have predicted an even bigger win for the Patriots.
