TB12 & Pats Ready to Roll Over Rams in Super Bowl LIII

If this was a feel-good Hollywood movie, then the ending would be a foregone conclusion. The aging - or some might say aged - All-World quarterback in the twilight of his career, struggling to silence the naysayers that had his team, and his career, left for dead midway through the season. But suddenly this once invincible juggernaut regains their form, defeats the other team from LA, knocks off the best team in the AFC, lands in the Super Bowl once again, and against the team where the dream run began nearly two decades ago. The scriptwriters would have no choice but to make it a happy ending. Happy, of course, for the New England Patriots and their fans but a Friday the 13th scenario for everyone else.

The best online sportsbooks, found all in one place at Sportsbook Review, opened the betting for Super Bowl LIII with New England installed as 1½-point favorites over the Los Angeles Rams, but that number has swelled to 2½ and even 3 at some of the offshore books. And for a number of reasons, that line shift makes sense because this Patriots team has loads of postseason and Super Bowl experience and are still stinging from their Super Bowl loss last season to the Eagles.

Brady had this to say about the toll a loss of that magnitude takes: "Hopefully we learned that lesson and hopefully that serves as some motivation. The whole point of this week is to win the game. If you win it, you’ll have something to celebrate the rest of your life. If you don’t, it will be some mental scar tissue that you’ll have to deal with the rest of your life."

If you think the Pats’ victory might be written in the stars, consider that since Bill Belichick’s buddy and fellow coaching luminary Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa back in ’09, each year that the Crimson Tide won their national championship the Patriots failed to win the Super Bowl that same season. However, when Alabama was not crowned national champs, New England did win the Super Bowl that same year. We all know that Bama bowed to Clemson this past NCAA season, so if the pattern holds true then Tom Terrific will be adding another ring on his finger.

The Patriots have several weapons that should poke holes in the relentless Rams pass rush. We know that Aaron Donald is the best in the business while his buddies in the trenches Ndamukong Suh and Michael Brockers aren’t chopped liver, either. However, what the Pats will exploit is an LA linebacking corps that is somewhat soft against the short outs, which means James White as an outlet receiver coming out of the backfield will be used early and often as will Julian Edelman, slot receiver extraordinaire, over the middle. We don’t see Brady having much luck stretching the field as he will have to release the ball within a second, two at the most, to avoid the LA chaos-makers muscling New England’s offensive line.

Jared Goff and the Sunshine Kids from Los Angeles should be able to put up points as well against a malleable Patriots defense. Belichick has this unit trained to avoid penalties and not make silly mistakes (hear that Dee Ford?), which means they will probably get burned by either former Patriots Brandin Cooks, Robert Woods, or both during the afternoon.

However, we don’t see Todd Gurley as being the elite rusher he was before he got injured. The Rams will cross their collective fingers and hope Gurley gets in a groove, but if he doesn’t C.J. Anderson will be summoned to take the lion’s share of the carries. Anderson is not the game-breaker that Gurley has been throughout his career.

This all adds up to plenty of points as well as a win and a cover by the greatest NFL dynasty to ever grace the gridiron. Yes, most of America is sick of the Pats, but when it comes to cashing tickets at the best online sportsbooks, found at Sportsbook Review, then forget about what you want to happen, bet what you think will happen. Patriots 37, Rams 27.