2.01.2019

NFL Picks - Super Bowl LIII

New England @ Los Angeles Rams
It’s time for Super Bowl LIII and we’re all gonna barf. Some of us from nervous anticipation, some from disgust at another Patriots appearance, and the rest from going too hard at the Royal Rumble last weekend. Regardless of the reason, I think we can all agree that this is going to be an excruciating viewing experience. 
Of course there’s the prevailing story line of the old coach and quarterback against their young gun counterparts. As you may have heard, the Rams duo of Sean McVay and Jared Goff will be setting a record for the youngest head coach/QB combo in Super Bowl history, with a combined age of 57. They’ll be breaking the existing mark set in Super Bowl  XII by Broncos head coach Red Miller (age 50) and contest winner Mickey Sazeran (age 12). In retrospect, allowing their starting quarterback for the first drive of the game to be chosen by a sweepstakes was a critical error for Denver that led to a 7-0 deficit on the first play of the game. But Mickey (1966-'78) will live on in our hearts forever! 
As we all know, if Brady wins again he’ll extend his record for Super Bowl wins by a starting QB to 6. Though, you may not have realized, if New England is defeated Brady will match Jim Kelly for most SB losses by a starting quarterback with 4. If so, Tom Terrific will certainly be lumped in with the Buffalo Bills as the most notorious losers in NFL history. I feel sorry for him already. 
At a certain point we have to put aside historical factors and consequences and look at the actual game at hand. In their Super Bowl losses the Patriots have been beaten by the type of interior pass rush that LA can generate. So it’s feasible that New England could struggle to light up the scoreboard. Meanwhile, Jared Goff has been merely average in the second half of the season and who knows what kind of factor Todd Gurley will be after seeing limited snaps in the NFC title game due to poor performance? Now I’m starting to wonder if anybody is going to score points in this game. Eventually someone will have to, but it could be a grind. I’m talking myself in circles here; I need some sound advice, and there’s no one I trust more than the best analyst in the biz. What do you have for me CriColl?


Damn it Cris. Alright, what do I do here? Obviously it has to be a one-possession game either way, since that's been the case in every Brady/Belichick Super Bowl. I'd prefer a tie, but since that's impossible in this scenario I'll go ahead and say ...

Rams 23-20