Los Angeles Chargers v New England Patriots
FOXBORO, MA - OCTOBER 29: Rob Gronkowski #87 of the New England Patriots evades a tackle from Adrian Phillips #31 of the Los Angeles Chargers during the second half at Gillette Stadium on October 29, 2017 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Home » Blog » For Patriots, no pressure in Super Bowl 53

For Patriots, no pressure in Super Bowl 53

Matt Verderame NFL

It’s the rare moment in sports.  A team in the championship game and nothing to play for from a historical standpoint.

That’s where the New England Patriots find themselves. For Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, this is their ninth Super Bowl appearance together. They’ve already won five championships, more than any quarterback and head coach before them. Hell, Belichick even has three additional Super Bowl appearances and two rings as a defensive coordinator.

The other big names on New England are also cemented. Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski also each have a pair of rings, and while each would undoubtedly love more jewelry, neither is going to be hurt in a legacy sense without it.

For New England, winning another Super Bowl would give it six intros unparalleled era. Not a whole. lot different than five for people who look back in 50 years. The Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s won four Super Bowl in six years. The San Francisco 49ers of the ’80s won four as well. The Dallas Cowboys won three championships in the 1990s. You have to go back to the Green Bay Packers of the 1960s to find a dynasty that won five titles in the same decade, and most don’t realize that happened as three of those came prior to the Super Bowl era.

For the Los Angeles Rams, however, this is a seminal moment. It would represent the first Super Bowl win for a litany of key men including head coach Sean McVay, and players like Ndamukong Suh, Aaron Donald, Marcus Peters, Jared Goff, Robert Woods, Brandin Cooks, Andrew Whitworth and so many others.

If the Rams can beat the Patriots, they would be remembered as one of the great teams that was able to win on the biggest stage. A loss, and Los Angeles tumbles back down into the category of talented teams that couldn’t finish the job. Now that’s pressure.

Back to the Patriots. This is an opportunity to tack onto their greatness, to be sure. Nobody in New England, and certainly nobody associated with the team, sees this game as gravy. It’s a chance to achieve another lifetime dream, even if it isn’t the first time. That said, how people remember this dynasty has long been rendered complete, whether it’s for all the wins, or some of the ugliness (SpyGate, DeflateGate, so on).

Two teams in the same spot. One having everything prove. One having already proven everything.

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