L.A. Rams Win Super Bowl LVI

On Sunday, February 13, 2022 the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals faced off in the Super Bowl LVI. The close game resulted in a 23-20 win for the Los Angeles Rams. 

Each team had their own headlines as the big game approached. The Rams made a risky trade for quarterback Matthew Stafford over the off-season and brought Odell Beckham Jr. to the team in the middle of the season. Expectations were high for the Rams to see if these new additions would make an impact and get them to the Super Bowl. 

On the other hand, no one expected the Bengals to be in the Super Bowl this year. Two seasons ago, this franchise only won two games throughout the year. However, they managed to fight their way to a wildcard spot in the playoffs, where they beat the Oakland Raiders. Then, the Bengals beat the Titans to advance to the conference championship to face the Kansas City Chiefs, one of the best teams in the NFL. The game went to overtime, and the Bengals pulled off the upset to make their way to the Super Bowl. Read on for details and highlights about Super Bowl LVI!

FIRST HALF 

The Bengals won the coin toss and deferred possession to the second half, but the Rams started off strong by scoring a touchdown from Matthew Stafford to Odell Beckham Jr. A field goal for the Bengals cut the deficit to 7-3 at the end of the first quarter. Stafford continued lighting it up when he threw to Cooper Kupp for a touchdown in the second quarter. The field goal unit did not convert on an extra point, so the score was 13-3.

The Bengals kept fighting and scored a touchdown to close the gap to three points. On one possession for the Rams in the second quarter, Beckham Jr. went down with a non-contact injury, which is reported to be a torn ACL. This put more pressure on Kupp to make plays at the wide receiver position for the rest of the game. Stafford threw an interception in his own endzone with two minutes left in the second quarter, but the Bengals could not take advantage, so the score was 13-10 Rams at the end of the first half.

HALF TIME

This year, the halftime show was heavily anticipated due to the star-studded lineup of celebrities performing. Those celebrities included Snoop Dog, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige, and an appearance from 50 Cent. Since the Super Bowl was in L.A., they had to go all out and bring the biggest names to perform. Based on my experience from watching it on T.V., I think it was one of the best halftime shows in a while. Bengals kicker Evan Mcpherson even watched it from the sidelines. 

Left to right: 50 Cent, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dog. Image from Fox News.

This year, the halftime show was heavily anticipated due to the star-studded lineup of celebrities performing. Those celebrities included Snoop Dog, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige, and an appearance from 50 Cent. Since the Super Bowl was in L.A., they had to go all out and bring the biggest names to perform. Based on my experience from watching it on T.V., I think it was one of the best halftime shows in a while. Bengals kicker Evan Mcpherson even watched it from the sidelines. 

THIRD QUARTER

The second half started with an explosion from the Bengals. They scored a touchdown quickly, but at the cost of a clearly missed flag that should have been called. The Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase grabbed the facemask of his defender, which is an automatic flag, but the referee did not see or call it. This allowed him to easily catch the ball and run it to the endzone for a touchdown. To make the game even more interesting, Stafford threw another interception, and the Bengals were able to get a field goal out of it, which put the Bengals on top 20-13. The Rams finally regained composure and scored a field goal in the third quarter to make the score 20-16 Bengals.

FOURTH QUARTER

As the game entered the fourth quarter, fans were wondering if the Bengals could pull off another upset in the biggest game of the season to complete the perfect Cinderella story. Each team went back and forth, not scoring in the fourth quarter until the Rams finally started to put together a good possession. Stafford threw his third touchdown pass of the game to Kupp for his second touchdown reception of the game with 1:25 on the clock. This put the Rams on top 23-20 and gave Joe Burrow a chance to tie or win the game. The Bengals had a 4th & 1 with thirty-nine seconds left and decided to throw the ball, which led to an incomplete pass and ended the game. 

Rams head coach Sean McVay is interviewed after the game. The 36-year-old is now the youngest head coach to ever win a Super Bowl.
Rams head coach being interviewed after his win. Image from CNN.

Cooper Kupp won the Super Bowl MVP award after having eight receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns. The Bengals were so close to completing the perfect underdog miracle, but despite their loss, there is a lot of potential for the team moving forward. This NFL postseason was one of the best yet because, out of the thirteen games that were played, the final score for nine of them was based on one possession (seven points or less). The intensity was high, and many games were decided in the final minutes, even seconds, but the Rams ended up on top with their second Super Bowl title in franchise history.

Feature image from Sports Illustrated.

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James Oakley

James Oakley is a writer for The Daily Runner.