“Yeah, I told you it would probably be 3-0 with, what, three minutes to go in the second quarter, so you’re welcome,” was Romo’s sardonic reply.

What would become a 13-3 New England Patriots victory over the Los Angeles Rams was, indeed, a bit of a clunker, nothing at all like the AFC championship game two weeks ago. In that game, Romo predicted a series of plays down the stretch and in overtime in rather fantastic fashion that propelled him to a new stratosphere of fame and made him a bigger star than most of the players heading into his first Super Bowl. On Sunday morning, New York Times columnist Frank Bruni even suggested Romo stood as an avatar for knowledge in a post-fact world.

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But if viewers tuned in Sunday evening hoping for a repeat of Romo’s performance in Kansas City, they likely were disappointed.

The closest he came was late in the first half. Rams quarterback Jared Goff completed a long pass and with the clock ticking, Romo suggested Goff would spike the ball and look for a quick slant. Goff did exactly that, though the pass fell incomplete, like many of his passes during the game.

Romo also delivered what could be called a prediction when Stephen Gostkowski of the Patriots readied to attempt a field goal before Nantz noted that kickers were 31-for-31 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium during the season.

“Did you do it to him again?” Romo asked, suggesting the jinx was on.

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Gostkowski promptly missed the kick.

“Was that one of your predictions?” Nantz asked.

“That’s not one of my predictions,” Romo said.

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In the fourth quarter, Romo appeared to miss an attempted guess at a play call. With the Patriots driving for what would be the game’s only touchdown, Romo saw a formation and told viewers to watch out for Rob Gronkowski on a double move down the seam and a running back on the sideline. New England quarterback Tom Brady threw instead to Julian Edelman over the middle.

Still, if there were few predictions of note, Nantz and Romo delivered some good laughs. Romo’s first line of the night was a self-deprecating zing.

“Welcome to the Super Bowl, Tony Romo,” Nantz said.

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“I’ve been waiting to hear ‘Welcome to the Super Bowl’ my whole life,” responded Romo, who never reached the game during his playing career with the Dallas Cowboys.

Later in the game, Romo heard Brady call out “Reagan” at the line of scrimmage. “Obviously, Reagan means run to the right,” Romo noted. Whether Romo was referring to the alliterative nature of the play call and the direction of the run or the political leanings of the former president is unclear.

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Nantz flashed some comedic chops, too. He described a violent tackle of Tom Brady by Aaron Donald as “a little throw down.”

“That’s not that little,” Romo said.

A couple seconds later, Nantz added: “Tongue in cheek.”

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With the game puttering along at 3-0 in the third quarter, Rams punter Johnny Hekker knocked a Super Bowl record 65-yarder.

“That’s the highlight of the game!” Nantz crowed.

And when Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein booted a field goal to tie the game at three, Romo got into the act. “We got points!” Romo exclaimed. “And it feels like we got a scoring spree!”

To nitpick the broadcast of a game that had some late drama but little action throughout and scant big plays, there seemed to be room for more explanation of the defensive chess match that was unfolding. What was Patriots Coach Bill Belichick doing to stymie his counterpart, the young offensive wiz Sean McVay? And, in turn, what was Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips doing to confuse Brady?

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Perhaps the most dramatic moment of the broadcast didn’t come until after the game, when sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson attempted an interview with Brady. Set to begin the interview, Brady instead stepped away for a hug with Rams receiver Brandin Cooks, then Rams running back C.J. Anderson and then Julian Edelman.

A mass of media enveloped Wolfson, but she eventually corralled Brady and got her questions in.

“Everyone’s talking that this dynasty was declining,” she said. “How satisfying after all the talk and this season was this one?”

“It was an unbelievable year,” Brady said. “We fought through it more-so than anything. It’s unbelievable to win this game.”