Patriots win Super Bowl 53: 3 takeaways from the big game

1. Defense still matters in the NFL:

The New England Patriots won Super Bowl 53 by the score of 13-3. It wasn’t a flashy game full of big play highlights. It was a game of smash mouth football, with more of a heavy dose of the running game than quarterbacks gunning it out. This Super Bowl was a rematch of Super Bowl XXXVI when the Patriots won because of a dominant defense. Super Bowl LIII saw the Patriots give up just 229 passing yards, neutralizing one of the best offensive attacks in football.

Defense ruled the day when the Patriots began their dynasty. The Patriots first Super Bowl win was after all sandwiched between the Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers riding historic defenses to championships. Defense still wins championships. The Rams put up impressive numbers all season long but they ended up punting nine times in this game.

The importance of defense is good news for the Ravens. They have every intention of being a great defensive team again in 2019. Don Martindale coached the number one defense in the NFL and it was a huge reason why Baltimore was the AFC North champions. The teams with the most exciting offenses walked away without a ring this season. Pat Mahomes dropped 50 touchdowns on his opponents this season and if the Kansas City Chiefs had any kind of defense, he would have played in this Super Bowl. The Rams offense was in the top five of pretty much every category. New England’s defense just won them a Super Bowl.