“We got outplayed. We got completely outplayed.”
That was the bottom line from a visibly frustrated Jared Goff as the Rams quarterback spoke to reporters following his team’s 13-3 loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta on Sunday night. The 24-year-old signal-caller went on to say he felt like they’d left a lot out on the field and added that he was angry with himself for not capitalizing on more opportunities. But in reality, it was more than just Goff’s lackluster play that contributed to the loss. The entire Rams offense, which averaged nearly 33 points per game during the regular season, was nowhere to be found, scoring no points in the first half.
Star running back Todd Gurley never got rolling, racking up just 35 yards rushing and the team failed to convert on key third downs in a game where there were opportunities about to take advantage of a Patriots offense that got off to a slow start and even turned the ball over on the game’s first possession. Goff’s interception with just over 4 minutes left in the game killed any final chances L.A. had of coming back, and in the end the Rams and their fans were left wondering what might’ve been had the offense been more productive.
We’ll debrief on the Super Bowl, talk about some of the other factors that contributed to the loss, and look ahead to the promise of next season for a young, talented Rams football team that will likely enter the 2019 season with a chip on its shoulder after coming up just short of winning it all this year.
Guest:
Gary Klein, Rams beat writer for The Los Angeles Times who has been in Atlanta covering the Super Bowl and attended the game on Sunday night; he tweets