Super Bowl 2019: Matchup Date, Odds and Patriots vs. Rams Breakdown

Super Bowl LIII is both a blast from the past and a glimpse into the future, a general clash and a rivalry renewed.

It's Patriots vs. Rams on Feb. 3, just as it was 17 years ago when these teams tangoed in Super Bowl XXXVI, a game that helped launched New England's dynasty.

Only, everything is different this time around—including the Patriots' Hall of Fame-bound quarterback, who was an anonymous passer then and might be the greatest of all time now:

Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are two of the best to ever do it, but the Rams were right there among this season's best, thanks in no small part to their own quarterback-coach tandem in Jared Goff and Sean McVay.

If it's possible to outshine a conference championship weekend that featured two overtime battles, this might be the game to do it.

Super Bowl 2019 Schedule, Odds

Who: New England Patriots vs. Los Angeles Rams

When: Sunday, Feb. 3 at 6:30 p.m. ET

Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta

TV: CBS

Odds: Patriots -2, Over/Under 57.5

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Everywhere you look in this contest there's a can't-miss matchup, but let's start under center.

Brady remains the gold standard for NFL quarterbacks. Sure, there might be some who are more physically gifted and those with glossier stat sheets, but all this guy does is win. His 348-yard, one-touchdown effort Sunday was just enough to send him to—this doesn't even sound real—his ninth career Super Bowl.

"It's hard for me to imagine," Brady told NBC's Peter King (via NESN.com's Joshua Schrock). "Nine Super Bowls. I know. It's ridiculous."

That's what Goff is going up against in what will be his fourth career playoff game.

He's a huge playmaker in his own right, tallying 4,688 passing yards with 32 touchdowns against 12 interceptions this season. But there's more to securing a Super Bowl title than just delivering the football on time and on target.

The media attention, the extra preparation, the spectacle of it all—there's no way to ready yourself for any of that unless you've experienced it.

Then, there's the added challenge of dueling with Belichick in the postseason. The Pats coach just finds ways to strip away an offense's best options. The latest evidence came Sunday, when Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce combined for just four catches on eight targets for 65 yards.

"Those guys had 50-60 percent of their receiving yards," Patriots safety Duron Harmon told reporters. "We knew if we wanted to limit this offense, it started with those two."

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

That gets into maybe the most intriguing matchup: the chess match between McVay and Belichick.

Even at 32 years young, McVay already looks like an offensive mastermind. And credit this front office for giving him no shortage of offensive weapons. C.J. Anderson has added a different dynamic to the ground game, Todd Gurley is a weapon on the run or catching passes and the trio of Robert Woods, Brandin Cooks and Josh Reynolds is one of the NFL's best.

It's tough to tell what Belichick would—or even should—try to take away first. Gurley might have been the obvious answer earlier in the year, but he had five touches in the NFC title game. Anderson has been electric, but it'd be odd to call him the head of the snake when he only joined the team ahead of Week 16.

This, of course, assumes the Rams get enough touches to establish their offensive identity. The Patriots ran twice as many plays as the Chiefs on Sunday (94-47) and more than doubled them in time of possession (43:59-20:53).

If New England opts for the same strategy, it just might find the rushing room needed to make that happen. The Rams allowed an NFL-worst 5.1 rushing yards per attempt this season. The Patriots, who have rushed for 331 yards through two playoff games, have been practically unbeatable when their ground game clicks.

"Since the Belichick-Brady era began in 2000, they are 11-0 in the postseason when a player rushes for 100 yards, and 51-1 in the regular season," ESPN's Mark Reiss observed.

So, are we about to witness a changing of the guard, or will this be business as usual for Brady and Belichick? We have no idea, but we can't wait to find out.

Odds used courtesy of OddsShark.