We are just days away from another Super Bowl, and this year, the New England Patriots will face off against the Los Angeles Rams. The Patriots are in their third straight Super Bowl and their 11th overall, but it came despite a longer bad start than usual. The Pats suffered some embarrassing losses this year, but their 11-5 record was enough to finish second overall in the AFC behind the Chiefs. They defeated the Los Angeles Chargers in the Divisional Playoff, and thanks to usual help from the refs (and the opposing defense being MIA), they won in OT over the Chiefs in the AFC Championship.
The Rams are in their third season back in Los Angeles after 21 seasons in St. Louis, which saw them reach two Super Bowls and win one in the 1999 season. This journey has been an interesting one. Their first season back in LA saw them go 4-12, but after only changing the head coach, the Rams went 11-5 and won the NFC West, only to lose the Wild Card Playoff. After obtaining some key defensive names, the Rams went off to a hot start and ended up 13-3. The Rams defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional Playoff, and regarding the NFC Championship, the Rams won in controversial fashion over the New Orleans Saints in OT, putting them in the Super Bowl for the first time in 17 years.
Some more trivial notes. This is a rematch of Super Bowl XXXVI, which saw the Brady/Belichick Patriots win their first of five SBs over the then-St. Louis Rams, thanks to an Adam Vinatieri last second FG. The Pats were 14 point underdogs (yes, back then, the Patriots were underdogs) in the game, making it the biggest SB upset since Super Bowl III. This is the first time that Los Angeles is represented in the Super Bowl since the then-Los Angeles Raiders won Super Bowl XVIII, and this is the Rams' first SB appearance as a LA team since reaching Super Bowl XIV. Plus, this is the second Boston vs LA championship meeting in less than four months; the Red Sox and Dodgers faced off in the World Series last October. Every league has featured a Boston vs LA championship except for the NHL, though a Bruins/Kings Final almost happened in 2013. This is Brady and the Patriots' second chance at tying the Steelers with six SB wins. And like last year, they'll come up short.
Prediction: Rams by 6
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