Since we addressed the stellar gameplan and playcalls from Bill Belichick and Brian Flores in our analysis immediately following the game, there isn't anything glaring that has to be covered after viewing the game film. It only reinforced what we thought at the time: the Patriots, continuing basically what they've done since the Vikings game, played excellent defense (there's a reason why we kept saying we felt better about that side of the ball than the offense). At the same time, they were certainly aided and abetted by the shocking lack of adjustments by Sean McVay and the extremely poor play by Jared Goff. New England was responsible for some of that, but L.A. definitely played a part as well.
(As far as McVay goes, you could almost say the same about Josh McDaniels. He finally found a good adjustment on the touchdown drive out of desperation ... but why didn't he go to it earlier?)
But as tends to be the case in these Super Bowls, some myths have emerged. The bigger the game, the bigger the overreaction. And it cuts both ways. Last year at this time people were completely blowing the Malcolm Butler benching out of proportion when there were several other holes in the defensive gameplan — and Tom Brady still had the ball in his hands with a chance to win the game with two minutes to go. (But let's keep saying the game was blown by Belichick with the Butler decision when it wasn't.)
In the aftermath of Super Bowl LIII, since the Patriots won this time around, the myth-making is swinging in the other direction. Some of it is warranted, and some of it is overblown. Let's take a look at some of the key factors, including Jason McCourty's pass breakup, the value of Kyle Van Noy and Dont'a Hightower, how well Stephon Gilmore played, and some under-the-radar performances.
MYTH 1: Jason McCourty made a great play to break up the pass in the end zone
Everyone knows the play. With 3:42 left in the third and the Patriots leading 3-0, Brandin Cooks stood all alone in the end zone on a first-down play from the New England 29-yard line. Goff finally sees him and throws the pass. Cooks goes up for it, but McCourty comes from seemingly out of nowhere to help break up the pass. The Rams settle for a game-tying field goal.
Devin McCourty said after the game his brother had screwed up on the same play earlier in the game. That came with 4:19 left in the first quarter on an incompletion to Robert Woods that was rushed due to pressure from Deatrich Wise and Danny Shelton. "NFL Turning Point" captured the drama.
https://twitter.com/MikeReiss/status/1093671897496211457
So there it is, for posterity. Right? Well, not exactly. That may be a great show, but sometimes it leaves out some context to make things seem grander than they were. NFL Films is a propaganda machine, after all. It's been creating myths since 1962.
A couple of things about those two plays:
- McCourty actually didn't play either all that well. He has a deep quarter of the field, but each time, there's no one close to threatening his side of the field. He's supposed to help if there's no danger on his side. He was late both times. In fact, on the second pass, he sunk about 3 or 4 yards before finally realizing he was supposed to be closer to the middle of the field.
- McCourty was bailed out by the fact that the second play was run from the hashmark closest to him. The first play was run from the far hashmark. If the ball was on the far hash, he doesn't make the play. If the ball is a split second earlier and Cooks catches it, we're talking about McCourty being a goat because ... what the heck was he doing below the numbers when there were no Rams receivers on his side of the field?
- And he was also bailed out by Goff's terrible play. The Rams knew they were going to come back to this play and that Cooks might be left open again. Did Goff see him right away? No. He throws late and then, despite not being pressured until very late, threw an absolute duck that almost went out of the back of the end zone entirely.
Here are the defensive positional ratings against the Rams:
Defensive line (5 out of 5)
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As we said above, everyone contributed. We had just one error for this group — Brown overpursued out of his gap on the first run of the second half and that left a hole for Todd Gurley to scamper for 16 yards. That was it.
The Patriots completed whipped the Rams up front. However, they merely exposed an overrated Rams offensive line. I mean, what the heck was Roger Saffold doing on this play (and this wasn't an isolated incident)?
Linebackers (5 out of 5)
We've covered Van Noy and Hightower, but Elandon Roberts continued his late-season push by being very good in his 16 snaps. He really did well filling that role. I'm sure he wanted to play more, but that's a good building block for next year.
Secondary (5 out of 5)
I think this might be a record ... I had the secondary for just two miscues — Gilmore's holding penalty (legit) and Jones giving up a 17-yard reception. Again, that was it. Hard to believe the Patriots' secondary — after some of the games they had this season — basically threw a shutout against the vaunted Rams. I mean, shoutout to McVay and Goff. But this group has played very well for several weeks.
THREE UP
Kyle Van Noy: Six pressures, physical play and he was flying all over the field. No miscues either.
Lawrence Guy: The unsung MVP of the front seven had another six impactful plays with no errors.
Patrick Chung: Before he went out, I just thought he was awesome in everything he did. From run support to attacking the tight ends, Chung saved his best for last.
THREE DOWN
None. I had five miscues for the whole unit. I can't even pretend to give anyone shade. So here are the Rams offensive three downs:
John Sullivan: The center gave up the most pressure (six) and he was just whipped up front.
Austin Blythe/Rob Havenstein: The right guard and right tackle gave up a combined eight pressures. The Rams seriously might need a complete revamp of their line if Andrew Whitworth retires. I knew this line was overrated, but I didn't know they were this bad.
Jared Goff: I had had him for 10 negative plays (including three late passes, three poor decisions) and just two positive throws. No way you're beating the Patriots like that. Ask Nick Foles.