At points in the days leading up to Super Bowl LIII, players from the Patriots and Rams were asked about what kind of factor their difference in Super Bowl experience might make in Sunday’s game.
The Rams are relative newcomers to these kinds of matchups, but the Patriots were in the game for the third time in the last four years and they’ve been playing tight postseason games for most of the last two decades. Wide receiver Chris Hogan was asked if playing so many of them gave the team an edge on Sunday night.
“It has helped a lot, you know? We have been in these situations so many times before in big games and we don’t really blink,” Hogan said. “We practice these situations, we run these situations, we know how to execute in these situations -- that is what it comes down to. Four minute drives and trying to end a football game, take care of the ball, run-blocking and doing all of the fundamentals when it really counts and we have been in this situation before and it just helps.”
The Patriots were frustrated offensively for most of the night, but the defense kept that from causing too much harm and they came up with plays in the fourth quarter that allowed them to put the win away. Whether that was a byproduct of their experience, adjustments to what the Rams were doing or a combination of both, it was enough to make the Patriots Super Bowl champions once again.
