Patriots vs. Rams: Winner and Score Predictions for Super Bowl 53

The New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams both won thrilling conference championship games on the road and have secured a date in Super Bowl LIII.

That game will be played February 3 in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and both teams have nearly two full weeks to prepare for the game.

This is quite an opportunity for second-year head coach Sean McVay of the Rams, who will test his skills against New England's Bill Belichick.

McVay is looked at as a young genius on the sidelines because of his ability to build an explosive and creative offense. He turned the Rams into a playoff team in his first year as head coach, and he has brought them an NFC championship in his second year.

The 32-year-old has a chance to lead his team to a Super Bowl title as he challenges the pre-eminent coach in the game.

Belichick and the Patriots will be playing in their ninth Super Bowl and attempting to win their sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy. The 66-year-old may already be recognized as the greatest coach in NFL history, and it's difficult to dispute that based on the accomplishments on his resume.

If Belichick is not the best coach of all time, he walks shoulder-to-shoulder with leaders and innovators that include Lombardi, Paul Brown, Don Shula and Bill Walsh.

McVay knows he is going to test his skills against one of the greatest minds in the history of the game, and Belichick is coming off a brilliant game-planning performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.

The Chiefs helped Belichick and New England reach their goal by winning the opening coin toss and deferring until the second half. The Patriots took the opening kickoff and held the ball for more than eight minutes, and they scored the opening touchdown of the game when rookie running back Sony Michel pounded the ball into the end zone on a one-yard blast.

The Patriots dominated the first half, holding the Chiefs scoreless and added a second touchdown just before halftime. The 14-0 lead was impressive, but Kansas City was not about to give in. After an early third-quarter touchdown, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense turned explosive with 24 fourth-quarter points.

Tom Brady was able to counter the Kansas City rally with two late fourth-quarter touchdown drives. The second of those gave the Patriots a 31-28 lead, but the Chiefs tied the game on Harrison Butker's 39-yard field goal and sent the game into overtime.

The Pats won the game in the extra session when they won the toss, took the ball and drove 75 yards for the winning touchdown. Rex Burkhead plowed two yards into the end zone for the winning points.

Overcoming Mahomes was a huge accomplishment, as the second-year quarterback threw 50 TD passes in the regular season.

The Rams also won their game in overtime, and they did it by overcoming an early 13-0 deficit against the New Orleans Saints in the Superdome. At the start of the game, Jared Goff and the Los Angeles offense looked inept as the quarterback could not hear the signals coming in or communicate with his teammates.

However, the defense played well enough to keep the Saints close, and the Rams found their offensive game.

They tied the scoreline in the final seconds on a 48-yard field goal by Greg Zuerlein, and the strong-legged kicker won the game in the extra session when he boomed home a 57-yard field goal.

The Rams were immediately installed as a one-point favorite, but bettors quickly turned that honor to the Patriots. New England is currently a two-point favorite, per OddsShark, and 66 percent of the early money has come in on the Pats.

The Patriots are -140 favorites on the money line, while the Rams are +120 underdogs. Those betting on New England risk $140 to win $100, while L.A. backers risk $100 to win $120.

The total is listed at 57.5 points, which is high for an NFL game, but it makes sense here with two capable offensive teams. This could be a back-and-forth battle, much like the fourth quarter of the AFC title game.

Prediction

There is a long time to play this game out in the minds of handicappers, but some of the veterans of that business often say "think long, think wrong."

That means bettors are often best served by going with their first impressions.

As a result, the Patriots are the selection from this corner, and their past history as the league's dominant team since the 2000 season is just part of the reason.

Brady has been sensational in this postseason, passing for 345.5 yards per game while completing 71.1 percent of his passes.

It will be difficult for Goff (241.5 yards per postseason game) to remain calm for 60 minutes when he has never been in a game of this magnitude. He may hit his stride at some point, but it won't happen until the Patriots have built a sizable lead and the Rams are forced to play comeback football.

The Rams may get close, but the Patriots will hang on to win the Super Bowl for the sixth time, tying the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most victories of all time in the championship game.

Final score: New England 33, Los Angeles 27.