History Against Patriots-Rams Super Bowl 54 Rematch

The New England Patriots are Super Bowl champions. Tom Brady and Co. beat the Los Angeles Rams, 13-3, to win their sixth Super Bowl ring in 18 years.

Super Bowl parades are commonplace in Boston and with Brady expected to return for a 20th season, the Pats will look to repeat. The oddsmakers give the reigning champs +800 odds, making them one of four teams with better than +1000 odds to win Super Bowl 54.

However, history is against another Patriots Super Bowl run.

For starters, defending champions are not locks to return to the playoffs the following year. Of the previous 52 winners, 16 failed to play past Week 17. Only one-in-four Super Bowl winners have returned to the title game after hoisting the Lombardi Trophy the previous season and eight won back-to-back championships.

Of course, the Patriots were the last team to accomplish the feat (Super Bowls 38 and 39). History suggests a new team will be crowned the best in the NFL in the 2019 season, but Brady and Bill Belichick have proven time and again that it is foolish to bet against them.

There’s always next season

LA went all in for a Super Bowl and came up short. The three points scored by the Rams tied the 1971 Miami Dolphins for the lowest point total in a Super Bowl. The only highlight on Sunday for Sean McVay’s squad was a 65-yard punt by Johnny Hekker that set a Super Bowl record.

The Rams were outplayed in the Super Bowl, but with Jared Goff still on his rookie contract the team’s title window remains open. The financial flexibility provided by paying a franchise quarterback peanuts, at least for one more year, will allow LA to field one of the most talented rosters in the league.

Oddsmakers list the Rams at +800 to win Super Bowl 54 — tied with the Patriots. The Super Bowl runner-up has performed well the following season with 34 teams winning at least 10 games and more than 70% of teams returning to the playoffs.

Only eight teams that lost the Super Bowl returned the following year, though the Patriots lost Super Bowl 52 to the Philadelphia Eagles only to return to the championship game.

The 2019 NFL regular season starts in 213 days. Come September we will find out if the Patriots can repeat or if the Rams will bounce back. Using history as a guide, we will be talking about two different teams next February in Super Bowl 54.