Julian Edelman came up huge Sunday night for the Patriots, catching 10 passes for 141 yards to win Super Bowl MVP honors in New England’s 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII.
While Edelman’s contributions with the ball in his hands will be remembered long after the confetti has been swept off the turf at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, his greatest contribution might have come in the huddle during New England’s game-winning touchdown drive.
With the game tied 3-3 and both offenses sputtering, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels made an adjustment to go to a two tight end set in order to attack the Rams’ base 3-4 defense through the air. Edelman knew if the Patriots finally were going to hit pay dirt, they would need tight end Rob Gronkowski to do what he does best: make a play.
“You know, Julian, on that drive, looked at me and said, ‘We need another play out of you, Rob. We need a huge play,'” Gronkowski said after the game, via the NFL.
The 29-year-old tight end did just that, hauling in an 18-yard pass to begin the drive, and then snagging a 29-yard strike to set the Patriots up at the Rams’ 2-yard line, Running back Sony Michel plunged into the end zone on the next play to give New England a 10-3 lead and that would be all Bill Belichick’s defense would need to secure the franchise’s sixth Super Bowl title of the Tom Brady-Belichick era.
Simply put, Edelman did it all to help the Patriots win their third Super Bowl title in five seasons.
