After scoring the only touchdown of Super Bowl LIII, the New England Patriots were feeling supremely confident, judging from their sideline chatter.
During a video released by the Patriots called “Sights and Sounds” from their 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams, Bill Belichick and Julian Edelman were overheard with enormous confidence after Sony Michel scored a 2-yard touchdown with seven minutes left in the game.
Edelman walked up to Tom Brady on the sideline.
“Let’s keep it going. They can’t cover me,” Edelman told his quarterback.
That proved true. Edelman had 10 receptions on 12 targets for 141 yards. The Rams matched up Aqib Talib on Edelman. He managed a catch. The Rams matched up Nickell Robey-Coleman. Catch. Rams safety Josh Johnson? Catch. Cornerback Marcus Peters? Catch. The Rams tried zone defense. Catch.
Meanwhile, Belichick was instilling confidence in his defensive line before the drive when Stephon Gilmore intercepted Jared Goff.
“We don’t got a lot of calls left now. Let’s get them right. They can’t beat us,” Belichick said on the sideline. “We just have to make sure we don’t screw up. If we’re on it, we know they don’t got anything.”
The Patriots finished with 12 quarterback hits, eight pass deflections, seven tackles for loss and four sacks. It was a day when the defensive line and linebackers could feel good about their performance. They helped force Goff’s many incompletions, along with pressure from safety Duron Harmon forcing Goff’s interception to Gilmore.
