The Patriots Broke Super Bowl 53’s Touchdown Drought Midway Through The Fourth Quarter

Super Bowl 53 had been a gigantic defensive slugfest for three and a half quarters. The New England Patriots entered halftime up 3-0, while the Los Angeles Rams managed to tie things up with a field goal of their own in the third quarter. In a game where everyone expected points, defense was the Super Bowl’s calling card.

But in the fourth quarter of play, the Patriots finally struck. New England got the ball and marched down the field, in large part because of its Hall of Fame quarterback and tight end. Tom Brady dropped a dime to Rob Gronkowski, who reeled it in and was taken down right on the doorstep.

The 29-yard gain set up New England perfectly to do what they’ve done so well all postseason: run the football. Rookie back Sony Michel got the ball, found a hole, and dove right in for six.

Michel has been a revelation this postseason, and seeing as how Los Angeles’ offense hasn’t been able to get anything going all game, it’s possible this score might have put the feather in the cap for New England. It also helped that, on the Rams’ ensuing drive, quarterback Jared Goff threw up a duck that got picked off.

L.A. might have the best boot in the game in Johnny Hekker, so Goff might be wise to leave the punts to him.