The NFL season came to an end on Sunday night in thrilling fashion with the Los Angeles Rams winning Super Bowl LVI 23-20 over the Cincinnati Bengals. It was the second Super Bowl win for the Rams and the team’s fourth championship in franchise history. Meanwhile, the Bengals fell a little short of what would have been their first Super Bowl win in franchise history after a thrilling run in the playoffs. Let’s take a look back at how the game unfolded.
Breaking the Ice
It took both teams a little bit of time to get going, but the Rams finally broke the ice midway through the first quarter with a 50-yard touchdown drive that ended with a touchdown catch by Odell Beckham Jr. Before the quarter was over, the Cincinnati offense would get things going, ultimately responding with a field goal to make it 7-3. However, the Rams responded to that score with a 75-yard touchdown drive that took less than three minutes. This time, Matthew Stafford found Cooper Kupp in the end zone. Despite a botched PAT, the Rams opened a 13-3 lead during the early part of the second quarter.
View this post on Instagram
Going Cold
Unfortunately for the Rams, the second quarter saw Beckham leave the game with a knee injury. His absence made it difficult for the Los Angeles offense to move the ball, especially since the Rams couldn’t get their running game going all game. When all was said and done, the Rams had just 43 rushing yards on 23 carries with Cam Akers being held to 21 yards on 13 carries.
Seizing the Opportunity
With the Rams struggling to figure things out without Beckham on the field, the Bengals made their move, scoring the next 17 points. Cincinnati responded to the Rams going up 13-3 with a 75-yard touchdown drive that ate up over seven minutes. At the end of the drive, the Bengals utilized a trick play with running back Joe Mixon throwing the ball to Tee Higgins for a touchdown. The Bengals struck again on the first play of the second half with Joe Burrow throwing a 75-yard touchdown pass to Higgins. Of course, a replay shows that Higgins clearly got away with offensive pass interference on the play. The Bengals would get another field goal on their next drive to open up a 20-13 lead midway through the third quarter.
The Answer
Despite looking good with a 20-13 lead, the Cincinnati offense wouldn’t score again. The Los Angeles stepped up when needed and put Burrow under constant pressure throughout the rest of the game, ultimately tallying seven sacks. That helped to give the Los Angeles offense time to figure out how to get going with Beckham sidelined. The Rams countered Cincinnati’s third-quarter field goal with one of their own to get the game to 20-16.
The End
After a few stalled drives, the Rams finally got something going late in the fourth quarter, practically forcing the ball to Kupp. A 15-play, 79-yard drive would eventually end with Stafford throwing a one-yard touchdown pass to Kupp with 1:25 left to give the Rams a 23-20 lead. Despite the Bengals getting the ball across midfield in search of a game-tying field goal, the pressure from the LA pass rush was too much, forcing an incomplete pass on fourth and 1 to give the ball back to the Rams and securing the Super Bowl victory for Los Angeles.
With 112 million viewers with the inclusion of digital, it is the highest-rated Super Bowl in the last few years! That’s that Hollywood magic at work.
