After an exciting, relatively high-scoring Super Bowl 52 between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots in 2018, people were excited for Super Bowl 53’s matchup between the much improved LA Rams and the Patriots, the latter going for their sixth ring under Bill Belichick. The Rams were going into the Super Bowl red hot, beating the number one seed the New Orleans Saints in a one score game and looking to win it all. However, the entire nation was surprised when the final score ended at 13-3 to the Patriots, the lowest scoring Super Bowl in history. Although the Patriots were the favorites to win, no one expected such a low scoring game between two of the best offensive teams in the league, each averaging more than 27 points per game during the regular season.

Predictions from ESPN heavily favored the Patriots to win, with 45 of their 72 experts choosing them, and all but one of those picking Tom Brady as the Most Valuable Player winner. Senior Kunal Bhargava agreed, as a long-time fan of the Patriots he had “no doubt that the Pats were going to win, after beating the Chiefs [the Patriots] found their stride.”

It was a struggle for both offenses, with only one touchdown occuring in the entire game and the defenses holding each other to a 3-0 score at halftime. Patriots wideout Julian Edelman had arguably the best performance on the field, catching ten passes for 141 yards and winning the Super Bowl MVP award. Other notable names include the Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski, who was two for three on field goals and tied Adam Vinatieri’s record for seven career Super Bowl field goals in his career, and Rams punter Johnny Hekker, who punted on a record first eight possessions, and punted for a new record of 65 yards. Freshman Cody Liddle thought it should have been the Rams’ punter, even though “between Edelman and Hekker it’s hard to choose in such a low-scoring game.”

The talk of the game before the touchdown was the mediocre halftime show, with Big Boi, Travis Scott and Maroon 5 performing. Freshman Audrey Anderson was not impressed by the halftime show, as she “wasn’t particularly enjoying the music or the show, and turned it off after about five minutes.” Travis Scott performed songs off of his recent album “ASTROWORLD,” while Maroon 5 sang songs off of their most recent album, “Red Pill Blues.” Big Boi performed his latest single “Doin’ It” and “All Night” off of his latest album  “BOOMIVERSE.” Controversy surrounded the performers, in light of the Colin Kaepernick collusion allegations against the National Football League. Kaepernick has not played a game in the NFL in over two years, and has not been offered another contract from any other team since. Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Beyonce are among many notable names who turned down offers to perform the halftime show in support of Kaepernick’s actions.

The second half of the game went better offensively for both teams, as the Patriots scored the only touchdown of the game, and both teams scored another field goal. The Rams’ kicker scored a field goal in the third quarter to tie up the game 3-3, making a close game even closer. Patriots running back Sony Michel broke the deadlock midway through the fourth quarter, running in a two-yard score and pushing the Patriots ahead 10-3. Pats kicker Stephen Gostkowski ended the game a few minutes later with a late field goal sealing the win and the overall score at 13-3.

Even though the often predicted outcome of a New England Patriots win came to be true, many were upset that the up-and-coming Los Angeles Rams could not finish out a spectacular season. Their brilliant defense could not hold on for the entire game however, as coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady broke them down for a touchdown and two field goals, beating out the Rams’ single field goal. Although disappointed to be at work during the Super Bowl, junior Zander Schock says, “I didn’t watch the game, but I heard it was quite a boring game with an even more boring halftime,” perfectly summing up Super Bowl 53; a lackluster, low-scoring game with an unfortunately mediocre halftime show.