BRUNSWICK — The talk throughout the NFL season was offense. 

High-scoring contests were the rage, and heading into Super Bowl 53, most thought the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams were going to light up the scoreboard.

Not so fast.

Defense made a return, as the Patriots won their sixth Super Bowl in the Bill Belichick, Tom Brady era, 13-3, keeping the Rams out of the end zone, out of the red zone, and into Super Bowl lore.

Not since the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings waged a defensive battle back in Super Bowl IX, had two teams struggled to score in the first half like the Rams and Pats on Sunday.

Back in 1975, the “Purple People Eaters” and the “Steel Curtain” went to the locker room with the Steelers holding a 2-0 lead, a game Pittsburgh eventually won, 16-6.

On Sunday, the Patriots led 3-0 and the Rams were barely north of 50 yards of total offense at halftime as the New England defense continually frustrated and harassed Rams quarterback Jared Goff, sacking him four times.

A funny moment came when broadcaster Jim Nance announced that kickers inside Atlanta’s new Mercedes-Benz Stadium were a perfect 31-of-31 on field goal attempts this season. Color commentator and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo wondered aloud if Nance had just jinxed Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski, who proceeded to hook a 46-yard field goal inches to the left to keep the scoreless after a quarter.

There was nothing funny about New England’s defense. Even in the second half when Goff and the Rams moved the ball a bit better, Patriot fans had to feel comfortable as Goff ran for his life most of the time while the Ram running game was doing little behind Todd Gurley.

In a 3-3 game in the fourth quarter, Brady took over. Was there any doubt? He drove the Patriots down the field, passing expertly to Super Bowl MVP Julia Edelman (10 receptions, 141 yards) before threading a perfectly-placed pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski to the LA 2-yard line. Moments later, running back Sony Michel followed the blocking of Gronk, running back James Devlin, and his offensive line into the end zone for a 10-3 lead with seven minutes remaining.

The Rams put together their best drive of the day, but year-long standout Stephon Gilmore intercepted a poorly underthrown Goff pass for an interception at the Patriots’ 2-yard line.

Los Angeles needed a stop, but on this day, and for the sixth time overall in the Super Bowl, there was no stopping

Brady and his offense from putting away another championship victory. Yes, the Rams had one more chance with the ball — after a Gostkowski field goal made it 13-3 — but a missed field goal and a knee from Brady started the red, white and blue confetti celebration once again.

I have been truly blessed in my lifetime as far as the Super Bowl goes. I grew up in Pittsburgh, where the Steelers won four Super Bowl titles in six years. I enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was stationed for several years in Norfolk, Virginia, a region that is flooded with the Washington Redskins. Washington won two Super Bowls during my time there.

In 2001, I headed north with my wife and two small children to finish out my Navy career, eventually setting up shop in Maine. Since then, the Patriots have won six Super Bowl titles.

So for me, over 53 Super Bowls, I have been the “winning team” for 12, not including the two other Super Bowls my Steelers won since I lived in New England. Not a bad percentage if I say so myself (and, I haven’t even mentioned the four World Series titles for the Red Sox, the NHL title for the Bruins and the NBA championship for the Celtics since I drove across the green bridge from New Hampshire to Maine. But I digress!).

Where does this Super Bowl place the Patriots on the all-time list? Six Super Bowl wins matches the Steelers for the most in NFL history.

But there is more. Brady and Belichick have been together for all six of New England’s Super Bowl titles, with owner Bob Kraft magically bringing it all together in the front office.

There will always be those comparisons — is Brady the best quarterback/player in the history of the NFL? Is Belichick the greatest coach of all-time? Are the Patriots the greatest team/organization of all time?

I can break down those three questions. No quarterback has won six Super Bowls. No coach has won six Super Bowls. Whether you love or hate this duo, one can’t take for granted their ultimate success. Greatest team/organization of all time? Can’t say I am all in here, but if the 1960s belonged to Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers, the early 70s to Don Shula’s Miami Dolphins, the late 70s to Chuck Noll’s Pittsburgh Steelers, the 80s to the Dallas Cowboys, and the 90s to the San Francisco 49ers, one has to say that the entire 2000s so far have belonged to Belichick’s New England Patriots.

What amazes me is the longevity. In an era where the salary cap controls spending, free agents move around at will each offseason, that the Patriots have found a way to sustain their success.

I hear it all the time, both in my own home and with friends and family back in Pennsylvania.

“The Patriots cheat.”

“The referees are in their pockets.”

“I am sick of the New England Patriots.”

I heard this growing up, when the Steelers were the team everyone outside of Pittsburgh loved to hate, sick of the black and gold having success year, after year, after year.

For Patriot fans, smile when you hear this. A day will come when the Patriots struggle, fail to make the playoffs, fail to win a Super Bowl or advance to another AFC Championship game.

But until then, smile, put your chest out and shout all the way up the mountain top while singing the championship there from the rock group Queen … “We are the Champions!”

BOB CONN is The Times Record sports editor. He can be reached at bconn@timesrecord.com.