Super Bowl: Generation gap in Patriots-Rams rivalry

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The upcoming Super Bowl LIII has highlighted the largest ever age gap – 17 years – among starting quarterbacks in the history of National Football League (NFL) as the New England Patriots take on the Los Angeles Rams on the Sunday clash in Atlanta.

Tom Brady, 41, will become the oldest quarterback ever in the NFL to lift the title for Patriots if he masterminds yet another championship in the latest milestone of a career that has shown no signs of flagging.

A win would also see Brady become the only player in history to win six Super Bowls, an achievement which may never be beaten in an era where the average length of a playing career has shrunk to around three years, according to recent statistics.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (R) and Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff (L) attend a press conference in Atlanta, U.S., January 28, 2019. /VCG Photo

Records are also set to tumble in the event of a win by the youthful Los Angeles Rams, who are led by 24-year-old quarterback Jared Goff and head coaching prodigy Sean McVay.

McVay, still only 33, will become the youngest head coach ever to win the Super Bowl if he manages to outwit Patriots counterpart Bill Belichick, 66, who has won five Super Bowls as a head coach and two as an assistant in a coaching career that dates back to 1975.

When Brady inspired the Patriots to their first Super Bowl in 2002, Goff was only seven years old.

"What do I remember about it? Nothing," said Goff, the 2016 No.1 draft pick who has looked a model of calm this week as he prepares for the biggest game of his fledgling career.

Similarly, McVay was playing at quarterback for his high school football team when Belichick was winning his first championship with New England in 2002.

Moreover, the Rams' head coach had not even turned one when Belichick helped the New York Giants win the 1987 Super Bowl as the team's defensive coordinator.

A combination photo of file images showing Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay (L) and New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick (R) at press conferences ahead of Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta, U.S., on January 30 and 31, 2019 respectively. /VCG Photo

Conference battle: New England Patriots VS Los Angeles Rams

The NFL game is the rivalry between champions from two conferences – American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). This year, the New England Patriots are the five-time defending AFC champion and Los Angeles Rams are the NFC champion.

The game was originally created as a part of the merger game between NFL and its then-opponent American Football League (AFL). In 1970, the first AFL-NFL World Championship replaced leagues with conferences.

Patriots have won five Super Bowl championships in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, and 2016.

Awaiting them in Atlanta are the Los Angeles Rams which won the NFL Championships in 1945 and 1951 before the merger and the Super Bowl Championships in 1999.

The Rams last made the Super Bowl in 2002 while based in St. Louis, losing to the Patriots.

(With input from agencies)