NEW ENGLAND (13-5) vs LOS ANGELES RAMS (15-3)
Sunday, 6:30 p.m. ET, CBS
OPENING LINE - Pick ’em, now Patriots by 2 1/2
RECORD VS. SPREAD - New England 11-7-0, Los Angeles 9-7-2
SERIES RECORD - Patriots lead 8-5
LAST MEETING - Patriots beat Rams 26-10, Dec. 4, 2016
LAST WEEK - Patriots beat Chiefs 37-31, OT; Rams beat Saints 26-23, OT
AP PRO32 RANKING - Patriots No. 5, Rams No. 2
PATRIOTS OFFENSE - OVERALL (5), RUSH (5), PASS (8).
PATRIOTS DEFENSE - OVERALL (21), RUSH (11), PASS (22).
RAMS OFFENSE - OVERALL (2), RUSH (3), PASS (5).
RAMS DEFENSE - OVERALL (19), RUSH (23), PASS (14).
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Patriots meet Rams in rematch of New England’s 20-17 upset win in Super Bowl exactly 17 years ago. … New England’s renaissance began with that first title for Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and franchise. Rams have moved back to Los Angeles from St. Louis in interim. That Super Bowl is teams’ lone playoff meeting. . Including playoffs, Patriots have won five straight over Rams. . Either Belichick will become oldest coach to win Super Bowl at 66, or Sean McVay will become youngest coach to win it at 33. … Two of NFL’s four highest-scoring teams meet. Rams were second with 32.9 points per game, 421.1 yards per game in regular season; Pats were right behind (27.3 points, 393.4 yards). … New England is third team in NFL history to appear in three straight Super Bowls. Also its ninth overall in Belichick-Brady era, most in NFL history by player and coach. … New England’s 11 overall appearances more than any other team. Cowboys, Steelers, Broncos tied with eight each. … New England’s five Super Bowl titles second only to Pittsburgh’s six. . Patriots trying to become first team since undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins to lose Super Bowl, then win it in following season. . At 41, Brady can become oldest starting quarterback to win Super Bowl. He would supplant Peyton Manning, who won with Broncos in 2015 season at age 39. Brady had chance to do so last year, but Eagles beat Patriots. . Belichick has most playoff experience (41 games) and postseason wins (30) among head coaches in NFL history. He’s only head coach in NFL history with five Super Bowl victories. . With victory, Brady would win sixth Super Bowl ring, breaking tie with Hall of Famer Charles Haley for most by NFL player. . Brady holds Super Bowl records for starts (8), wins by QB (5), passing attempts (357), completions (235), yards passing (2,576), passing TDs (18) and game-winning drives (5). . Brady averaged 267.5 passing yards per game in postseason before turning 40. Since hitting that milestone, he’s thrown for 364.6 yards per game. . Brady’s three Super Bowl losses as starting quarterback are tied for second most behind Jim Kelly’s four. . RB Sony Michel has five rushing TDs this postseason, most by rookie in NFL history. . RB James White has four TDs (3 rush, 1 receiving) in two career Super Bowls. He’s aiming for third Super Bowl in row with rushing TD. . TE Rob Gronkowski has 12 career playoff TD catches, tied with Hall of Famer John Stallworth (12) for second most in postseason history. He’s aiming for his third Super Bowl in row with TD catch. … WR Julian Edelman ranks second in postseason history with 105 receptions. He has five or more catches in 12 consecutive postseason games, longest streak in playoff history. . DE Trey Flowers led team with 7 1/2 sacks. . S Duron Harmon led team and tied career high with four INTs. He had interception in last year’s Super Bowl loss to Philadelphia . Patriots All-Pro CB Stephon Gilmore had career-high 20 pass defenses, second most in NFL. … Before turning 33 last week, McVay became youngest coach in NFL history to win playoff game. Guided seven-game turnaround last season as rookie head coach, followed by franchise’s first Super Bowl berth in 17 years. … Atlanta hosts Super Bowl for first time since Rams beat Tennessee 23-16 to win their last NFL title Jan. 30, 2000, at Georgia Dome. … Rams’ second trip to Super Bowl representing Los Angeles. Also made two trips for St. Louis. Seeking first championship on West Coast since 1951, fourth in franchise history. … First Super Bowl matchup between No. 2 seeds since NFL began seeding teams in current format in 1975. … Jared Goff is first No. 1 overall draft pick QB to lead team to Super Bowl in first three NFL seasons. He ranked fourth in NFL in yards passing in regular season (4,688). … Now 24, Goff was 7 years old when Brady won first Super Bowl. Their 17-year age gap is biggest in Super Bowl history. … K Greg Zuerlein says he’s healthy after straining non-kicking foot stepping on metal plate at Superdome. Still hit 57-yard field goal to beat Saints in NFC title game. … Rams P Johnny Hekker is 3 of 5 for 31 yards and 77.9 passer rating on fakes this season. He hit Sam Shields for key first down on fake punt in NFC championship game. … All-Pro DT Aaron Donald led NFL with 20 1/2 sacks in regular season, but has no sacks in postseason. Teammates Ndamukong Suh, Dante Fowler have capitalized while Donald was double-teamed. … RB C.J. Anderson won ring with Broncos three years ago. Late-season Rams signee has been huge in relief of All-Pro Todd Gurley, who has had one productive game since early December. Gurley, who led NFL with 21 scrimmage TDs, says his knee is healthy. … Rams have only four players with Super Bowl rings: Anderson, Shields, CB Aqib Talib and WR Brandin Cooks, who played for Patriots in last season’s Super Bowl, leaving in first half with concussion. … Cooks was traded to Los Angeles in offseason for first-round draft pick, responded with 1,204-yard season. … Wade Phillips, McVay’s 71-year-old defensive coordinator, going for second Super Bowl ring in four years after going without championship in first four decades in NFL. He won as Denver’s DC.
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