COLUMN: Super Bowl LIII was a miserable experience

I couldn’t tell you which Super Bowl has been the best ever played. Honestly, I wouldn’t want to hand out that sort of crown. 

But I’m confident about this: last night sure wasn’t it. 

With two weeks of anticipation leading up to a matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots, we deserved better than what we received. The intrigue of Sean McVay versus Bill Belichick, who texted each other throughout the season, was there. So was the storyline of newcomer quarterback Jared Goff taking on seasoned veteran Tom Brady — who was playing in his ninth Super Bowl. 

On paper, the game had the potential to be one for the ages. But in the end, what we got was the lowest scoring game in Super Bowl history — a miserable three and a half hour experience that had very few redeeming qualities if you had no dog in the fight. 

The highlights of the game were 14 punts, two missed field goals and a single touchdown that didn’t come until there were only seven minutes remaining in the game. The NFL 100 Commercial packed a lot more exciting action, with some of the greatest players in league history fighting over a fumbled football at an award ceremony. 

A defense-heavy, low-scoring game is perfectly acceptable for anything other than the Super Bowl. But this game didn't particularly showcase defensive prowess either.

The reason the game fell flat is because it was a missed opportunity. When all of America is watching, the NFL wants to showcase the best game possible. 

With millions of kids deciding not to ever play football because of safety and concussions, and fans turning to the much more dramatic and exciting NBA, that kind of nail-biting game was a win the league needed. When it had the attention of the entire country, the competition let us all down. 

Brady, who became the first player to win six Super Bowls, looked like a sad shell of himself for most of the game. More than half of his passing yards were dumped off to Julian Edelman, his No. 1 target and Super Bowl MVP, and he really only turned it on in the final quarter. 

Goff, who many consider to be a rising star in the league, couldn’t hit a receiver or lead a drive all game, even if he’d wanted to. He completed only half of his passes and wrapped up the biggest game of his career with an interception in a crucial late-game drive that had a chance to tie the game. 

Todd Gurley II, a superstar running back from Eastern North Carolina, spent most of the game on the sidelines. When he was in the game, he didn't seem like the player he had been before tweaking his knee. 

About everything that we could have asked for in the game didn’t happen. 

The one star of the game — who, by the way, is very good at his job — was Rams' punter Johnny Hekker. The seventh-year pro came out to boot the ball away on eight straight drives, and he even launched the longest punt in Super Bowl history before the game ended. 

That moment was probably exciting for his hometown of Bothell, Wa., but it was much less so for millions of viewers tuning in at home. You don't want the punter to shine through in the Super Bowl. 

After such an exciting season that gave us an offensive revival and stars on the rise, the Super Bowl was just not that. So I can’t help but think that with six months until the next NFL action, what a disappointing end we received to an encouraging 2019 season. 

Maybe it would have been best if the Saints and Chiefs had gotten to play instead. 

@_jackfrederick

@DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com