A year ago, the New England Patriots entered their Super Bowl LII matchup with Nick Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles as favorites to hoist the Lombardi Trophy once again, with many expecting Tom Brady and Co. to thoroughly handle the Birds.
That didn’t happen, though, as Foles shredded New England’s defense for 373 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-33 win.
Fast-forward a year and the Patriots once again are preparing for the Super Bowl and once again are the favorites to claim championship glory.
With the sour taste of the Super Bowl LII loss to the Eagles still fresh in some Patriots’ mouths, some might expect Bill Belichick’s club to have even more motivation heading into their Super Bowl LIII tilt with the Los Angeles Rams. But Belichick doesn’t see it that way.
“Well, I think right now, this football team is this football team,” Belichick said Thursday at his press conference, via transcript. “It’s not any other one, and we’re going to do the best we can to perform as well as we can against the Rams. That’s going to be a huge challenge, but it’s really just about us right now — there’s nothing in the past that does or doesn’t help us. We’re going to bond together and coach and play as well as we can next Sunday night.”
While Belichick might not want to admit it, we’re sure more than a few Patriots are dying to rewrite their Super Bowl history after the surprising defeat they suffered to the upstart Eagles.
The Patriots and Rams will meet in Atlanta in Super Bowl LIII on Feb. 3.
