neugey

Probably not the popular opinion, but I didn't mind the game. The Patriots put on a defensive clinic - coverage was lock down. They mixed it up wonderfully with the pass rushes and stunts and playcalls. They were excellent in their run gaps and refused to let the Rams get anything but moderate rushing yardage on almost every play. It's something we should aspire to - if we can take the next step on the defensive side and become a little more consistent and the refs get the hell out of the way, great things could be in store.

CHA_CHING

Same here. I enjoyed the game for back and forth defense. It felt like a game out of the 1970's. Reminded me a lot of the Pittsburgh/Minnesota SB where the final score was 16-6. Had the Patriots gotten those dropped INTs, the fumble that went out of bounds and maybe scored a few more times, it may have ended up being a worse one sided SB than Dallas/Miami in 1971 where the final score was 24-3.

It felt like SB 50 in a way. That game had horrendous QB play but was entertaining for moments with back and forth defensive dominance.

Like SB 50 with the corpse of Peyton Manning out there unable to do anything, the Pats could've rained touchdowns on the Rams if a youthful Brady had showed up.

Defense still wins championships, just as long as the offense can do something. All the Patriots needed was ONE touchdown scoring drive.

As a fan though, I was disappointed that there wasn't a single player on the Patriots defense who could've won SB MVP. At least in SB 50, Miller had the sack/fumble for a TD and the sack/fumble to seal the game at the end. Edleman had the yards, but zero TDs. I thought McCourty should've got SB MVP. He had 2 sacks, several tackles and was disruptive all night.

I would love to see Brees get a ring the way Manning and Brady did - all defense doing the heavy lifting. If you ask me, we owe that to Brees to pay him back for all the years he carried the Saints when we had atrocious defenses. They owe it to him to send him out a champion with a dominant performance and not having to rely on him to pull miracles.