Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams, 13–3. The game was played on February 3, 2019, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and was the first Super Bowl played at the stadium.
The Patriots' victory was their sixth, tying the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Super Bowl championships. New England, after finishing the regular season with an 11–5 record, advanced to their 11th Super Bowl appearance, their third in a row, and their ninth under the leadership of head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. The Rams finished the regular season with a 13–3 record under head coach Sean McVay, the youngest head coach in the Super Bowl at 33, as they advanced to their fourth Super Bowl appearance and their first since relocating back from St. Louis to Los Angeles in 2016. Super Bowl LIII was a rematch of 2001's Super Bowl XXXVI, the first championship won by Belichick and Brady and the beginning of the Patriots dynasty. It was the 14th meeting in a major sports championship between the Greater Los Angeles and Greater Boston areas and the first championship between the two regions in the NFL. The game also marked the first Super Bowl appearance of a Los Angeles-based team since the Los Angeles Raiders appeared in 1983's Super Bowl XVIII and the Rams' first as a Los Angeles team since 1979's Super Bowl XIV. This would also mark the Rams' last Super Bowl appearance until Super Bowl LVI in which they defeated the Cincinnati Bengals.
Super Bowl LIII was the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in NFL history, as both teams' defenses took over the first three quarters. The game marked the first Super Bowl in which neither team had a touchdown through the first three quarters, as the Patriots and the Rams fought to a 3–3 tie entering the fourth. In the final quarter, New England scored 10 unanswered points to claim victory, including the game's only touchdown by running back Sony Michel. The Patriots' one touchdown tied them with the New York Jets in Super Bowl III for the fewest by a winning Super Bowl team, while the Rams became the second Super Bowl team to not score a touchdown after the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI. Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, who caught 10 passes for 141 yards, was named Super Bowl MVP. Brady and Belichick became the oldest starting quarterback and head coach to win the Super Bowl at 41 and 66, respectively, and Brady was also the first starting quarterback to win the Super Bowl in his 40s. It marked the final Super Bowl of the Patriots dynasty, as Brady departed New England after the 2019 season.
The broadcast of the game on CBS, along with the halftime show headlined by U.S. pop group Maroon 5, saw the smallest Super Bowl audience in 10 years. Due to its low-scoring nature and both teams' offensive struggles, the game has been regarded as one of the worst Super Bowls, although the defensive performances of both teams are considered among the greatest.
Game summary[]
| Team | Conference | 1st Quarter | 2nd Quarter | 3rd Quarter | 4th Quarter | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots | AFC | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 13 |
| Los Angeles Rams | NFC | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Starting lineups[]
| New England Patriots | Position | Los Angeles Rams | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | |||
| Chris Hogan | wide receiver | Josh Reynolds | |
| Julian Edelman | wide receiver | Robert Woods | |
| Trent Brown | left tackle | Andrew Whitworth | |
| Joe Thuney | left guard | Rodger Saffold | |
| David Andrews | center | John Sullivan | |
| Shaq Mason | right guard | Austin Blythe | |
| Marcus Cannon | right tackle | Rob Havenstein | |
| Rob Gronkowski | tight end | Tyler Higbee | |
| Tom Brady | quarterback | Jared Goff | |
| Sony Michel | running back | halfback | Todd Gurley |
| James Develin | full back | wide receiver | Brandin Cooks |
| Defense | |||
| Deatrich Wise Jr. | right end | defensive end | Michael Brockers |
| Malcom Brown | defensive tackle | nose tackle | Ndamukong Suh |
| Lawrence Guy | defensive tackle | Aaron Donald | |
| Trey Flowers | left end | weakside linebacker | Dante Fowler |
| Kyle Van Noy | linebacker | outside linebacker | Samson Ebukam |
| Dont'a Hightower | linebacker | inside linebacker | Cory Littleton |
| Stephon Gilmore | right cornerback | inside linebacker | Mark Barron |
| Jonathan Jones | defensive back | strong safety | John Johnson |
| Devin McCourty | safety | free safety | Lamarcus Joyner |
| Patrick Chung | safety | cornerback | Aqib Talib |
| Jason McCourty | left cornerback | cornerback | Marcus Peters |
Entertainment[]
Pre-game[]
| Artist | Song(s) |
|---|---|
| Gladys Knight Aarron Loggins (American Sign Language interpretation) |
"The Star-Spangled Banner" |
| Chloe x Halle Aarron Loggins (American Sign Language interpretation) |
"America the Beautiful" |
| Bernice King Andrew Young John Lewis |
Coin toss ceremony participants |
Halftime[]
- Headliner: Maroon 5
- Special guests: Travis Scott and Big Boi
- Director: Hamish Hamilton
- Producer: Ricky Kirshner
- Sponsor: Pepsi
Set list[]
| Artist | Song(s) |
|---|---|
| Maroon 5 | "Harder to Breathe" "This Love" Trumpet fanfare (interlude; features the cast of SpongeBob SquarePants and contains scene from the episode "Band Geeks") |
| Travis Scott | "Sicko Mode" |
| Maroon 5 | "Girls Like You" "She Will Be Loved" |
| Big Boi | "Kryptonite (I'm on It)" "The Way You Move" |
| Maroon 5 | "Sugar" "Moves Like Jagger" |
Broadcasting[]
United States[]
| Network | Play-by-play announcer | Color commentator(s) | Sideline reporter(s) | Rules analyst(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBS | Jim Nantz | Tony Romo | Tracy Wolfson and Evan Washburn | Gene Steratore and Jay Feely |
| ESPN Deportes | Álvaro Martín | Raul Allegre | John Sutcliffe | |
| Westwood One | Kevin Harlan | Kurt Warner and Mike Holmgren | Ed Werder and Tony Boselli | |
| ESPN Deportes Radio | Kenneth Garay | Sebastian Martínez Christensen |
Other programming[]
| Programming type | Program |
|---|---|
| Lead-out program | The World's Best (series premiere) |
| The Late Show with Stephen Colbert | |
| Counterprogramming | Puppy Bowl XV (Animal Planet) |
| Kitten Bowl VI (Hallmark Channel) | |
| Cat Bowl (Hallmark Channel) | |
| Kosher Halftime Show (Nachum Segal Network) | |
| WWE NXT (WWE Network) | |
| Fox Nation In Depth (Fox News) |
Commercials[]
| Product type | Advertiser/product |
|---|---|
| Alcohol | Bon & Viv Spiked Seltzer |
| Bud Light | |
| Budweiser | |
| Hennessy | |
| Michelob Ultra | |
| Michelob Ultra Pure Gold | |
| Stella Artois | |
| Beverage | Bubly sparkling water |
| Pepsi | |
| Candy | M&M's Chocolate Bar |
| Car | Audi e-Tron GT |
| Hyundai Shopper Assurance | |
| Kia Telluride | |
| Mercedes-Benz A-Class | |
| Toyota RAV4 Hybrid | |
| Toyota Supra | |
| Film | Alita: Battle Angel |
| Avengers: Endgame | |
| Captain Marvel | |
| Hobbs & Shaw | |
| Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark | |
| Toy Story 4 | |
| Us | |
| Wonder Park | |
| Food | Avocados from Mexico |
| Burger King | |
| Flamin' Hot Cheetos | |
| Pringles | |
| Smart speaker | Amazon Echo |
| Sports | NFL centennial season |
| Store | Walmart Grocery Pickup |
| TV series | The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu) |
| Hanna (Amazon Prime Video) | |
| The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS) | |
| The Twilight Zone (CBS All Access) | |
| Video gaming | Xbox Adaptive Controller |
| Wireless | T-Mobile |
International[]
| Country | Network |
|---|---|
| Latin America | ESPN |
| Australia | ESPN, 1116 SEN |
| Austria | Puls 4, DAZN |
| Canada | CTV, CTV 2, TSN |
| Finland | Viasat Sport |
| Germany | ProSieben, ran.de, DAZN |
| New Zealand | ESPN |
| Russia | Viasat Sport |
| Switzerland | ProSieben, DAZN |
| United Kingdom Ireland |
BBC One, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Mix, Sky Sports USA |