THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
It had been the postseason of comebacks and last drive heroics, so it was only fitting that Super Bowl 56 had the same drama.
The Los Angeles Rams were crowned champions on Sunday in their home venue, SoFi Stadium, after a drive that went against the grain of the whole football game. When Matt Stafford threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to the MVP Cooper Kupp, it capped off a 15 play 79-yard quest to the endzone to finally knock off the Cincinnati Bengals.
Trailing 20-16 the Rams had trouble sustaining long drives all game, thanks largely to not being able to establish their run game which was snuffed out by the Bengals from the very first series of plays.
The comeback win cemented wide receiver Kupp's perfect season, as he led the league in all major categories for a player in his skill position.
Stafford had to overcome some adversity to remain poised during the long scoring drive. He had the setback of two interceptions, and a visit to the treatment table after being sacked. His determination to get the job done, even when star wideout Odell Beckham Jr left the game before halftime with a bad knee, was evident. He had to be as accurate as maybe never before in his career as his only real legitimate target, Kupp, was in heavy coverage, but that's when stars rise:
"I don't feel deserving for this. God is just so good. I'm just so thankful for the guys," said Kupp after his 2 touchdown, 8 catches for 92 yards performance, of which 4 for 34 yards were on the game-wining drive. He becomes only the eighth wide receiver to win the Super Bowl MVP award. "Whatever's asked of me, whatever my job is going to be on a given play, in a given game, I just want to do it to the best of my ability. We went a little up-tempo on that last drive, which kept the Bengals in some zone calls, and that allowed Matthew and I to kind of find some soft spots in there," he added.
The game started off with both teams feeling their way through opening series of plays. However, on the Rams second drive, they got some rhythm after the Bengals opted to go for a fourth down at midfield only to fall short. Shortly afterward, Stafford threw the first of his three touchdown passes, Beckham the recipient. The game didn't catch fire as expected but the Bengals did manage to get into field goal range late in the first quarter and kicker Evan McPherson stayed perfect for the postseason kicking a 29 yarder. Stafford was settling into the game and finding his receivers with great poise, and a steady drive saw the Rams extend their lead when he found Kupp from 11 yards out. The extra point failed after a bad hold, so the score was 13-3.
The Bengals had to respond with something special and a well-balanced drive ended with some trickery when running back Joe Mixon turned passer for a play as he sprinted right and floated a perfect pass to Tee Higgins. The game was starting to sizzle now, and you could feel momentum shift slightly as Stafford's first error came - an interception in the end zone after trying to force a play that wasn't really on, especially with Beckham now out of the game. The Rams had a chance to get into field goal range late on, but two long pass attempts were off target, leaving the score 13-10 in LA's favor at halftime.
The shift in momentum was complete with just 12 seconds ticked off the clock, albeit with a bit of controversy. Higgins went down the sideline with Rams corner Jalen Ramsey, and Joe Burrows' deep pass was contested. Replays showed that Higgins had pulled on Ramsey's facemask but the infringement went unnoticed by the officials. With the cornerback on the floor Higgins caught the ball and raced the remainder of the 75 yards to put the Bengals on top 17-13.
The Rams were shaken up, and when a Stafford pass was deflected and intercepted it looked like Cincinnati were on their way to widening their lead. It was now that the Rams defense started to come into the game, and they held up and despite giving up a first down on a fourth down call they tightened enough to keep the scoring down to just a field goal, McPherson good again, from 38 yards. The score now 20-13 after 17 unanswered points, the Bengals were in the ascendancy against a team that couldn't run the ball and were looking short of ideas.
The Rams tried their own trick play but Kupp to Stafford is not as effective as the other way around, and the trick play fell incomplete. This resulted in a field goal try and Matt Gay was good from 41 yards out to cut the gap to four points. It was now a cat and mouse game, but the Rams pressure on Burrow was telling, sacking the quarterback countless times. This would continue throughout the remainder of the game.
After the go-ahead Kupp score, with 1.25 left in the game, the Bengals did have enough time on the clock, but again big plays from the Rams defense, most notably Aaron Donald, meant that the Bengals' dream season was over as they couldn't get into McPherson's range for a tying field goal.
Donald, arguably the best defensive player in the league, had toyed with talk of retirement should his team win this game. However, after the game he told NFL Network: "I'm just in the moment right now. I'm enjoying this. That's all you can do right now. This game is never promised what can happen. I've been blessed and privileged to have the opportunity to play this game at a high level for eight years. So, I'm just going to live in the moment right now, enjoy this with my family, with my teammates and just have fun today."
Matt Stafford, whom the Rams traded heavily for this time last year from the Detroit Lions, was ecstatic but told of his nerves in those closing moments: "To be honest with you, on that last drive, I couldn't watch. After that fourth down play, I kind of peeked up. I didn't know it was fourth down, to be honest with you. I was talking to Cooper, and he was like 'I didn't know either.' We just, we couldn't watch. I'm so happy to be part of this group. That's the biggest thing. It's not me, its not any individual on this team. We're a group, we're a team. And to get it done together was so special."
Rams Head Coach Sean McVey becomes the youngest in that position to win a Super Bowl. "It feels outstanding. You talk about a resilient team, coaches, players, I'm so proud of this group, to be associated with it. We talk about competitive greatness all the time, being your best when the best is required," he said.
The Los Angeles Rams, having secured their first title for 22 years when they were in St. Louis, will now have to juggle their salary cap and keep some precious free agent players happy if they are to repeat, something which hasn't been done since the 2004-05 New England Patriots. As for the Cincinnati Bengals, they have a bright future ahead, and you get the feeling they won't have a 33 year wait for their return to the big game.
For the other 30 teams in the NFL, they now know the levels to which to aspire to, for now though the Rams sit on top of the world after this hugely entertaining season.
