Championship Sunday Preview: Old Age vs. New Age

Will newcomers Goff and Mahomes prevail, or will Brady and Brees steal the show Sunday? 

Kevin Korbel
Sports Editor

This Sunday, millions of NFL fans around the world will finally get to see who will be playing in Super Bowl 53. The Los Angeles Rams march into Louisiana to face the New Orleans Saints, followed by the New England Patriots traveling to Arrowhead Stadium to face the Kansas City Chiefs. 

In both matchups, you’ll see rematches from two of the best games from the 2018 regular season, with the Rams facing the Saints in a rematch from week nine, followed by the Patriots facing off with the Chiefs in a rematch from week six. 

The first matchup on Sunday will feature two of the most high-powered offenses in the NFL, when the Los Angeles Rams face-off against the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans, Louisiana.  

The New Orleans Saints go into Sunday, second in the NFL in points scored per game. The Los Angeles Rams sit right behind them, at third place in the NFL. 

Both teams are very similar, in terms of how their offense is built. For starters, at the quarterback position, Jared Goff of the Rams and Drew Brees of the Saints both top the league terms of passing yards, passing touchdowns, and completion percentage on the year. 

Both teams also feature two of the best running backs, and wide receivers in the league.  

Running backs Todd Gurley (Rams) and Alvin Kamara (Saints) have a combined 39 touchdowns on the season, and look to be a nuisance for any opposing defender who try to take them down. 

Wide receivers Michael Thomas (Saints), who leads the league in catches on the season (125), and Brandin Cooks (Rams), who has 1,204 receiving yards on the season, have given their teams an extra-added flavor to their teams’ offenses. 

With both teams having high-powered offenses, the key of this matchup is who will make the key stops on defense, and who will be able to give the ball to their top playmakers. 

The pick: Saints 27 Rams 24 

Tom Brady, and the New England Patriots march into Arrowhead Stadium to face MVP-candidate Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the last matchup of Sunday. 

Mahomes, who was second in the league in passing yards (5,097), first in passing touchdowns (50), and second in passer rating on the season (113.8) looks to lead the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl since 1970, and potentially capture the franchises’ second championship in franchise history. 

On the other side of the pond, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots march into their eighth-consecutive AFC championship appearance, and with a victory on Sunday would play in their third-consecutive Super Bowl. 

The matchup between Brady (41 years old) and Mahomes (23 years old) will be the biggest age difference ever in a conference championship game.  

Brady has 28 playoff victories in his career, which is more than the age of Patrick Mahomes (23).  

With Brady being the more experienced veteran in the NFL, and Mahomes being in his postseason, look for Brady to have the leg-up going into this matchup. 

The pick: Patriots 31 Chiefs 27

Feature photo courtesy of the Associated Press.