The New England Patriots are expected to beat the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII, but for that to happen Bill Belichick and company must concentrate in several key aspects as the Los Angeles Rams won’t just hand the Lombardi trophy over.
The Rams a very skilled team that has the personnel to defeat the Patriots and will at the very least make the game close. Thus, if New England wants to avoid losing back-to-back Super bowls for the first time in team history, it must focus on these four keys to beat the Rams on Sunday:
1.- Run the ball effectively: The Patriots are built to run the ball on the Rams and they must take advantage of this as the Rams showed during the regular season that they are susceptible to letting teams run on them. On average the Rams gave up 122 yards per game and now that the Pats have redefined themselves as a running team with Sony Michel, Rex Burkhead, and James White, they should try to take advantage of it.
An effective ground attack will be crucial against the Rams, more than in any other game this season, as they haven’t faced a pass rush like the one they’re going to face against on Sunday, which features Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh. Of course, Brady needs to play like Brady, but make no mistake an effective run game will be the biggest factor in the Pats offense.
2.- Stop the Rams running game: On defense, the Pats will have to deal with a couple of backs that can cause some damage in Todd Gurley and C.J Anderson. Gurley can be so dangerous not only because he’s effective out of the backfield, but because he can also pound the rock inside the tackles. The Patriots need to stop the run and dare the Rams to throw the ball because Rams quarterback is at his best when the ground attack is leading the way and opening the play-action game. Forcing Goff to put the game on his shoulders and take over the offense could end up being too much to ask of him due to his youth and postseason inexperience.
3.- Offensive line must protect Tom Brady: The Rams defensive front has been one of the best in the playoffs so it’s only fitting to see them taking on the Pats offensive line which has been the best in the postseason. The Rams defensive line is a different kind of threat in the trenches because the pressure will be coming down the middle so the offensive line must find a formula to slow down the pass rush enough to allow Tom Brady enough time to get rid of the football. He, of course, must do that rather quickly so don’t expect to see a lot of deep throws from him. He will need to use play-action passes to prevent being flushed out of the pocket and have the Rams miss with his timing.
4.- Defensive line must put pressure on Goff: New England’s defensive front will need to put pressure on Goff to either flush him out of the pocket or make him throw off balance, but that won’t be easy because the Rams have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. Even if they can’t get sacks, the Patriots know how to get in the face of opposing quarterbacks and they must do that in the Super Bowl to make the job easier for the secondary.
