Super Bowl 53: Patriots vs. Rams preview, statistics, odds

Conor Roche

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Super Bowl 53: Patriots vs. Rams preview, statistics, odds image

Super Bowl 53 is finally here.

The New England Patriots are back in the big game and are set to face the franchise they defeated 17 years ago to start their historic run, the Los Angeles Rams. This will mark the Patriots' 11th Super Bowl appearance all-time, ninth since 2001 and their fourth trip in the last five seasons.

While New England is expected to reach the Super Bowl every year, this year was a little different. The Patriots started the year off 1-2 and with minimal receiving depth, the offense looked the worst it had ever been.

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However, things changed in Week 4. New England acquired star receiver Josh Gordon in a trade with the Cleveland Browns and veteran Julian Edelman returned from a four-game drug suspension. The addition of those two helped open up the Patriots offense and with the emergence of rookie running back Sony Michel, they reeled off six straight victories.

Everything seemed to be going well up until they lost two straight road games in December. A last-second loss to the Miami Dolphins followed by a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers had many wondering if they could win on the road when it mattered.

MORE: 40 mind-boggling Tom Brady playoff facts ahead of QB's 40th playoff game

To make matters worse, Gordon left the team for personal reasons following the loss to the Steelers after he reportedly failed another drug test.

New England did bounce back and won its last two home games. With some help from the Philadelphia Eagles, it earned a first-round bye.

In the Divisional Round, a 12-4 Los Angeles Chargers team went into Foxboro looking like they’d give the Patriots a challenge. However, New England ended any hopes of a Chargers win instantly, jumping out to a 35-7 first-half lead. The Patriots held on to win and moved on to an even larger challenge, beating the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead.

MORE: Super Bowl 53: Ranking Tom Brady's best, worst championship performances

New England started the AFC Championship Game in a similar fashion, taking a 14-0 lead into halftime. But Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs stormed back in the second half, taking the lead twice and eventually tied the game at 31 with just seconds left.

In vintage fashion, Brady led the Patriots to a touchdown on the opening drive in overtime to give New England the win and head to the Super Bowl yet again.

 

 

While this is the Rams’ first appearance in the Super Bowl since their loss to the Pats, they were predicted by many to reach the big game after making splashy moves to acquire Ndamukong Suh, Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib last offseason. The star additions supplemented the talent they already had on offense between Jared Goff and last season's MVP runner-up, Todd Gurley. 

Los Angeles dominated in the first half of the season, winning its first eight games; however, its undefeated season came to an end against the New Orleans Saints, losing to them in a 45-35 shootout at the Superdome.

MORE: Todd Gurley denies his knee is still injured

The Rams lost twice more along the way but still played well enough to keep their record among the best in the league. The loss to the Saints ended up being the difference maker in having home-field advantage for the playoffs. 

Dominating performances from Gurley, C.J. Anderson and the run defense propelled the Rams past the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional Round, setting them up with a chance to get revenge against the Saints for the NFC title.

The Rams found themselves in an early hole, trailing 13-0 before the end of the first quarter. They eventually rallied back to tie it in the fourth quarter, and thanks to a controversial non-call that would have given the Saints a chance to run the clock down and win, Greg Zuerlein tied the game again by making a 48-yard field goal with seconds left in regulation.

 

 

Los Angeles picked off Drew Brees in the opening possession of overtime. On the ensuing drive, Zuerlein used his magic once again and made a 57-yard field goal to send the Rams to the Super Bowl.

Now the Rams have a chance to beat the team that ended their chance of forming a dynasty 17 years ago. Can Sean McVay and Goff take the NFL’s throne away from Brady and Bill Belichick, or will the current king's reign supreme?

Patriots vs. Rams head-to-head stats

  • Sony Michel is off to a hot start in his first postseason. He has 242 rushing yards in two games, making him the leading rusher in the playoffs. The Rams defense ranked 23rd in rushing in the regular season (122.3 yards per game); however, they've vastly improved in the playoffs allowing just 49 rushing yards per game.
  • Tom Brady will play in a record-setting ninth Super Bowl on Sunday. He holds a 5-3 record and has 2,576 passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns, five interceptions and a 98 passer rating in those eight games.
  • The Rams' running attack is led by Todd Gurley, but veteran C.J. Anderson has gotten into the mix in the playoffs. The Rams are averaging 175 rushing yards per game in the postseason after rushing for the third most yards (139.4 per game) in the regular season. On the flip side, the Patriots run defense has only allowed 60 rushing yards in two games for just 2.7 yards per carry.
  • Aaron Donald led the league in sacks (20.5) this season. Can the Patriots' offensive line contain him? They allowed the third-least amount of sacks in the regular season (21) and have yet to allow a sack in the playoffs.
  • Jared Goff finished the regular season fourth in passing yards (4,688). He goes up against a Patriots pass defense that was below average, ranking 22nd in pass defense (246.4 yards allowed per game).

Patriots vs. Rams betting odds

The Rams opened up as 1-point favorites, but the line has since changed to the Patriots as 2.5-point favorites. The over/under is set at 56.5 points, which is only one point short for the highest over/under in Super Bowl history.

How to watch Patriots vs. Rams in Canada

Super Bowl 53 will be streamed in high-definition on DAZN.

DAZN Canada has also partnered with Bell Media networks (CTV, CTV2 and TSN) to distribute NFL Sunday Ticket across Canada, for Sunday afternoon games. NFL primetime games can be watched on TSN and RDS, with Sunday Night Football and 11 Thursday Night Football games also available on CTV/CTV2. Amazon Prime Video will also stream the 11 Thursday Night Football games broadcast by CTV/CTV2.

However, DAZN is the only place to watch all regular-season (including Thursday night, Sunday night and Monday night games) and playoff games, plus exclusive access to RedZone.

Each game is available LIVE and ON DEMAND.

How to access NFL RedZone and Game Pass in Canada

DAZN provides NFL RedZone and also offers NFL Sunday Ticket access in Canada. Game Pass now lives on DAZN, as well.

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What other NFL content is available on DAZN?

DAZN also streams LIVE 24/7 access to NFL Network, as well as complete coverage of marquee events like the NFL Draft and Combine. 

Archived Super Bowl and NFL playoff games are also available on DAZN.

Conor Roche