Exactly six years ago on Feb. 3, 2019, the New England Patriots put the finishing touches on their 20-year dynasty.
The Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl LIII for the sixth and final championship of the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era. It remains the lowest-scoring matchup in Super Bowl history.
New England entered the playoffs in an unfamiliar role as the underdog after posting an 11-5 regular-season record. After blowing out the Los Angeles Chargers in the Divisional Round and outlasting the Kansas City Chiefs in an AFC Championship overtime thriller, Belichick's defense shut down the league's highest-scoring offense on the biggest stage.
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"This is by far the best," former Patriots safety Devin McCourty said of the Super Bowl LIII win. "This was different. Like, we've never been in this situation. We've never been the team counted out at the end of the regular season.
"We've never looked and saw we were eighth in the playoff rankings. Like, the worst team, our best player wasn't really that good anymore. So to overcome that I thought was awesome."
Unlike the Super Bowl, the AFC Championship in Kansas City was a shootout. The Patriots escaped Arrowhead Stadium with a dramatic 37-31 win over the Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs. Despite still needing one more win to bring home the Lombardi Trophy, beating Kansas City stood out as a defining moment in the dynasty.
"That game against Kansas City was just us against the world," then-Patriots backup QB Brian Hoyer said. "To me, that was more of the Super Bowl than the actual Super Bowl because I think we realized what we overcame, and it was like the one last hurrah."
In Super Bowl LIII, Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman earned MVP honors with a 10-catch, 140-yard performance. Punter Ryan Allen even made a case for the award with three of his five punts landing inside the Rams’ 20-yard line.
"That was a special group of guys," Hoyer added of the Super Bowl LIII team. "It was a lot of great veteran leadership guys who had been there before, played a lot of football. It's amazing when you win that Super Bowl, you're bonded for life."
The Brady-Belichick era lasted one more season before the legendary quarterback parted ways with the organization, leaving in free agency for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady went on to secure his seventh Super Bowl in his first season with Tampa. Belichick remained Patriots head coach for four subpar seasons before being replaced in 2024 by Jerod Mayo.
Super Bowl LIII capped off a historic dynasty that may never be matched. However, the Chiefs are making it a conversation as they get set to take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX. If Kansas City wins, it will be Mahomes and Co.'s fourth Super Bowl title in six years and the first three-peat in NFL history.
Relive the Patriots' Super Bowl LIII win in the video above, presented by VA New England.