6:04 pm | February 3, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:
ATLANTA — In a season that opened with a four-game suspension, New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman closed a championship season as the MVP of Super Bowl LIII.
Edelman finished with 10 catches for 141 yards in the Patriots’ 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams. On a night when points were hard to come by for both teams, Edelman was the only consistent go-to for the Patriots.
He closed at 25-1 to win MVP at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.
Edelman is the seventh wide receiver to earn Super Bowl MVP honors and the first since Santonio Holmes in Super Bowl XLIII. Desmond Howard also won the game’s MVP honors as a returner.
Edelman joins a list that includes Hall of Famers Lynn Swann, Fred Biletnikoff and Jerry Rice. He is the second Patriots wide receiver to have earned Super Bowl MVP honors, following Deion Branch in Super Bowl XXXIX — New England’s third of six Super Bowl wins with Tom Brady at quarterback.
It was Edelman’s sixth career postseason game with at least 100 yards receiving and his second 100-yard game of this postseason; he finished with nine receptions for 151 yards in the Patriots’ divisional-round win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Rams were able — with the power of their defensive front as well as the occasional matchup of cornerback Aqib Talib on Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski when Gronkowski lined up out wide — to unsettle Brady some in the early going.
Brady’s first pass attempt of the game, after the Patriots opened the game with four consecutive running plays, was intercepted by Rams linebacker Cory Littleton after the ball had been tipped by Nickell Robey-Coleman.
Edelman had just one catch on the next possession, when Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski missed a 46-yard field goal attempt. But from that point on the Patriots successfully moved Edelman around the formation — Talib had also matched up on Edelman several times when Edelman lined up in the slot — and often put Edelman and Gronkowski on the same side of the formation.
The result was that Brady was able to get the Patriots’ offense moving when he consistently got the ball to Edelman. Edelman finished the first half with seven catches for 93 yards, a total that included four of Brady’s six completions of at least 10 yards in the opening half.
It was all a long way from Edelman missing the 2017 season after suffering a torn ACL in a preseason game; he then missed the first four games of the 2018 regular season due to a suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
Edelman did not publicly reveal what substance he had tested positive for during the regular season, but said he had to “be accountable” for the suspension.
He now holds a place among the league’s postseason greats with his third Super Bowl win in 18 career playoff games.
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