The New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams will play Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019—seventeen years after the day when the same two teams played in Super Bowl XXXVI. It was an up-and-coming Patriot team, with their rising star quarterback, 24-year-old Tom Brady. Brady faced the heavily favored St. Louis Rams, who have since moved to Los Angeles. The Rams featured a nearly unstoppable offense, nicknamed “the greatest show on turf,” featuring future Hall of Fame players quarterback Kurt Warner and running back Marshall Faulk, as well as star wide receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. In a game that was the start of the 17-year Patriots dynasty, Brady and the Patriots defeated the Rams 20–17. Now, it is the upstart Rams, with their 24-year-old, third-year star quarterback Jared Goff, and head coach Sean McVay (youngest in the National Football League), who seek to start their own dynasty by beating the 41-year-old Brady and his legendary head coach Bill Belichick.

Patriots

Quarterback Tom Brady needs no introduction, especially here in New England. Brady methodically led the patriots downfield for the game-winning drive in overtime against the Chiefs. His enthusiasm and exuberance are easy to see, as he jumped around after the win, demonstrating that winning never grows old for him. His consistent excellence and achievements are documented in profootballreference.com, and include five Super Bowl wins, 14 Pro Bowl selections, four Super Bowl MVP awards and three NFL season MVP awards. He is widely considered among the best, if not the best quarterback of all time, and was ranked number one among the NFL Top 100 Players in 2018 according to an article by NFL.

Julian Edelman is the second-wide receiver in NFL history, after the great Jerry Rice, to catch more than one hundred passes in NFL postseason history according to a Jan. 28 article by NBC  Sports. He is a relatively small wide receiver who plays his best in the clutch and does not fear contact. He has been selected as an NFL Top 100 Player for three consecutive seasons from 2015 to 2017 according to an article by NFL.

Rob Gronkowski—also known as The Gronk— was selected to five Pro Bowls in nine NFL seasons, has been named as an All-Pro four times and has been ranked in the NFL Top 100 Players for seven straight years from 2012-2018. His great ability as a receiver and his ability to block effectively on the line due to his great strength make him a dominant player.

Rams

Jared Goff, a graduate of the University of California, became a star in only his second season in the NFL, making the Pro Bowl in 2017 and in 2018. This season, he completed 64.9 % of his passes for 4688 yards and 32 touchdowns, with an overall passer rating of 101.1. He is ranked 32nd in the NFL Top 100 Players in 2018 and has what it takes to be a dominant player in the NFL for years to come.

Todd Gurley is a powerful 6-foot-1-inch, 224-pound running back in his fourth season from the University of Georgia. He has made the Pro Bowl in three and selected as an All-Pro in two of his first four seasons in the NFL. This season, he ran for 1251 yards and 17 touchdowns, and had 580 receiving yards and 4 receiving touchdowns. In addition, he was selected as number 6 among the NFL Top 100 Players in 2018.  

Aaron Donald, ranked number 7 among the top 100 players in 2018, is a 6-foot-1-inch 280-pound defensive tackle from the University of Pittsburg. In his five NFL seasons, he has been selected to five Pro Bowls. Donald led the NFL with 20.5 quarterback sacks this season.

Overall, there is an abundance of great players in this game and should be a “must see” Super Bowl on that basis alone. However, the underlying theme of the young star quarterback and young head coach trying to supplant the legendary Brady/Belichick dynasty will make this game “one for the ages,” and may be an example of an irresistible force meeting an immovable object.

 – Megan Geller