The 2018-2019 NFL season came to a close on Sunday, Feb. 3 as the New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13-3, winning their sixth super bowl, tying the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most in the NFL.

On Jan. 5 and 6, eight teams played in the Wild Card round, in an attempt to advance to the Divisional round of the playoffs. Of the twelve teams to make the playoffs, the bottom eight seeds play in the wild card round while the top four teams, two from the AFC and two from the NFC, receive a bye.

The teams that were victorious and proceeded to the second round included the Colts, Chargers, Cowboys, and Eagles. Teams that received a bye and automatically  moved on to the divisional round were the Rams, Saints, Patriots, and Chiefs.

In the Eagles versus Bears game in the wild card round, Bears kicker Cody Parkey missed a 43 yard field goal at the end of the game. This kick would have won the Bears the game. The kick hit the goal post in the air twice and ultimately failed to go through the uprights sending the Eagles to the next round.

The winning teams from the divisional round of the playoffs were the Rams, Saints, Patriots, And Chiefs who all advanced to the Conference championship for their respective conferences.

In the Conference championship game for the AFC, the Patriots defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 37-31, in overtime. On the second final drive of regulation on a third down and ten that resulted in an incomplete pass, a Chiefs defender lined up offsides which resulted in a third and five situation for the Patriots and ultimately a touchdown that resulted in the game being sent to overtime. If the defender had not lined up offsides, the Chiefs would have been granted the ball due to an interception the team away with on the play of the offense.

In the NFC championship game, the Rams came out victorious after a very controversial missed pass interference call on the second to last drive of the game that would’ve virtually sealed the game for the Saints had it been called. The Rams edged out the win and advanced to the Super Bowl on February 3.

The 13-3 win by the Patriots over the Rams in the super bowl marked the end of the 2018-2019 NFL season and a record breaking sixth super bowl win for Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady.

Junior and football fan, Omar Kmir, said, “I thought that the super bowl was disappointing and expected the offensive performance to be better than the defensive one. An offensive game is always more exciting.”

On Feb. 2, Steve Harvey hosted the NFL honors awards which gives out the most prestigious awards in league. The most valuable player (MVP) award was given to Patrick Mahomes, the quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs. Mahomes was the second quarterback to ever throw for 50 touchdowns and over 5,000 yards in a single season.

Other notable awards included the defensive player of the year won by Aaron Donald, defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams. The Walter Payton man of the year award was given to Chris Long of the Philadelphia Eagles. Running back for the New York Giants, Saquon Barkley, won offensive rookie of the year, and Darius Leonard of the Indianapolis Colts won the defensive rookie of the year.

Andrew luck, quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, was awarded comeback player of the year after suffering a shoulder injury and sitting out for the entire 2017-2018 season.

After a season that was dominated by four teams, all of whom made it to the conference championships, many NFL fans have expressed their restlessness about how it all ended. Many believe the super bowl should have consisted of the Saints and the Chiefs, rather than the Patriots and the Rams. Now that the season is complete, however, fans of the sport will be anxiously waiting for likely another season of high-powered offenses putting on a show week after week.