ATLANTA -- It would be something of an exaggeration to say that no one believed in the defense. That's the story their players were telling after a 13-3 victory over the in Super Bowl LIII, the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in NFL history. In reality, New England's defense was a replacement-level unit during the regular season , had been the league's worst unit against 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end), which the Rams feature on nearly every offensive snap. In terms of the numbers, it was reasonable to believe that the Patriots, based on what we'd seen Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Jersey throughout the previous 20 weeks, might struggle against a Rams team that ranked second in the NFL only to the . But here's the thing -- and it should come as no surprise: That Patriots defense we saw from September until January wasn't on the field Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It was a completely different group. The names were the same but the scheme was completely different, to the point that 33-year-old Rams coach Sean McVay admitted he was taken to the woodshed by Bill Belichick, who at 66 now becomes the oldest coach to win a Lombardi Trophy. "They did a great job but it was mostly result of me doing a poor job calling plays and not giving us a chance to win," McVay told Westwood One's Ed Werder. "I don't know how you ever get over this." More NFL The Patriots weren't willing to concede that their succe s was primarily a function of McVay's poor job performance but instead attributed it to two weeks of preparation that stymied Los Angeles' potent running attack and forced to beat them with his arm. That, it turns out, played right into New England's hands.Yes, earned Super Bowl MVP honors, and should probably already be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame now that he has his sixth Super Bowl victory, but cornerback was the best player on the field on Sunday night. His interception with just over four minutes to go and the Patriots leading 10-3, all but sealed the Rams' fate. WOW. PICKS OFF Jared Goff with 4:17 left in the game. leading 10-3.: on CBS NFL (@NFL) "I knew Goff was desperate and it was down to the wire," Gilmore said. "I saw him release it from his hand the whole time. I knew we had a blitz on Nick Van Exel Jersey and it had to come out of his hand quickly . ... I just knew I couldn't drop it. The cornerback added: "It's probably one of the easiest picks I had all year." Gilmore had just two interceptions all season but don't be fooled; he had 20 pa ses defended and ranked him as the NFL's best cornerback. His teammates agree. "I didn't even see the interception to be honest," defensive back said. "I just know that a series before we're sitting on the bench and Steph goes, " Goff's gonna throw us one, we just gotta make sure we squeeze it. And Gilly Lockdown has been doing it all season. Going against team's No. 1 receivers. He's the best corner in the game this year -- there hasn't been anybody that has played better football than him at the corner position." And while led the Rams with eight catches for 120 yards, he never found the end zone. The Patriots' defensive game plan was near-perfect; shut down the running game, Jerry West Jersey force Goff to abandon the play-action pa s, and force him to be a pure drop-back pa ser. And Gilmore's time came late in the fourth quarter on that career-defining interception. "He's a fast guy, you know," Gilmore said of how he defended Cooks. "I had to get up and get my hands on him, pre s him every snap I could. We played a little bit more zone so sometimes I couldn't pre s him. Our defensive line put a lot of pre sure on the quarterback and I was able to play a lot of tight coverage like I've been doing." Gilly Lockdown doing his thing isn't surprising. What no one outside of New England expected was what the Patriots' front seven perpetrated against the high-flying Rams offense. "We communicated well, we executed the game plan at an amazing level and look at the scoreboard," said linebacker , who had a second quarter sack that served as a microcosm of the night for Los Angeles' offense "This is a Bill Belichick special" - and the make a BIG stop on 3rd down.: on CBS NFL (@NFL) Goff was sacked four times on the night and pre sured and the Patriots logged 12 hits on the Lonzo Ball Jersey quarterback. In the Rams' previous two playoff games, Goff was sacked just once. And the Patriots' defensive line during the regular season, according to Football Outsiders. But again, none of that mattered in Atlanta, where Belichick and linebackers coach (and soon-to-be coach) Brian Flores thoroughly outcoached McVay and the Rams. "We still have a bad defense?" Van Noy asked rhetorically. Like I said earlier, we have elite football players. We aren't stars over here Tyler Ennis Jersey we just show up to work and keep grinding." When reminded that only one player on the defense made the Pro Bowl, Van Noy added: "We're Super Bowl champs. I'll take a Super Bowl ring over a Pro Bowl any day. Seventeen years after the Patriots' first Super Bowl win and it's still "Us against the world." It may seem silly given all their succe s but there's no arguing with the results. And when you hear the players talk, they it. And that's the point: Hire the best coach in football history, find the best quarterback in football history, create your own reality and outwork everybody else on the planet. "You could say we were trying to send a me sage to everybody," defensive end said. "We had faith and that's all that mattered. Everybody tried to write us off as a team but when you get it through hard work, it's hard to write you off."