Controversy All Around in Lead up to Bowl

Nick Gonnella’20 and Ajay Patel '20, Contributors

Who do you want to win Super Bowl LIII

  • Rams (100%, 223 Votes)
  • Patriots (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 223

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The NFC championship game ended on a very controversial penalty call that was completely missed.  On a crucial 3rd and 10, Saints WR Tommylee Lewis got clobbered by Rams defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman well before the ball reached him.  If the penalty was called, the Saints would’ve had a 1st and goal with less than 2 minutes to go. It would’ve taken a miracle for the Rams to come back and get the win.  Because the pass interference penalty wasn’t called, the Saints had to settle for a field goal and take a 23-20 lead and on the Rams next drive they moved right down the field and kicked a field goal as time expired to send the game to OT where the Rams ultimately ended the game after Greg Zuerlein nailed a game winning 57 yard field goal.  To say that the Saints organization and fans are upset with the outcome of the game would be an understatement. Saints WR Michael Thomas has called on commissioner Roger Goodell to restart the NFC championship game due to the blown call while Saints head coach Sean Payton immediately called the league office after the game to talk about the missed call and he was told that the officials “blew the call”.  Sean had this to say during his postgame press conference, “For a call like that not to be made, man, it’s just hard to swallow. And then to get a phone call…” Payton then trailed off before also saying, “We spoke initially, then I called to follow up. And the first thing [head of officials Alberto Riveron] said when I got on the phone was ‘We messed it up.’”

As for the Rams, they have returned to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2000 when Kurt Warner led the Rams to their 1st super bowl title over the Titans.  Rams head coach Sean McVay is the youngest head coach to ever reach the super bowl at age 33, which is half the age of the opposing head coach, Bill Belichick.

The latest odds on the Super Bowl have the Patriots as a 2.5 point favorite.  The Patriots definitely have a lot more experience playing in the big game as Tom Brady has more playoff appearances then the entire Rams team.  Not to mention, they also have arguably the greatest head coach of all time in Bill Belichick. Although the Rams have a stellar pass rush led by defensive lineman Aaron Donald, Belichick always seems to figure out ways to slow down opposing team’s star players which is what I see him doing in the Super Bowl.  Although Sean McVay is a fantastic head coach, he isn’t at the level that Belichick is at quite yet, therefore I have the Patriots winning the super bowl again.