The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 to win their second Super Bowl.
The game was a close one throughout, with plenty of drama as well.
The Rams started the scoring off with a touchdown pass to Odell Backham Jr. (sorry Browns fans) to take a lead after the Bengals failed a fourth down attempt early in the first quarter.
The Bengals managed to answer back with a field goal from clutch kicker Evan McPhereson to make it a 7-3 game, and that score held for the first quarter.
The Rams offense seemed to be clicking when they came back down the field to score once again, this time it was wide receiver Cooper Kupp who got the pass from Matthew Stafford from 11 yards out. Importantly though, the hold on the extra point was dropped, so the game was 13-3.
The Bengals needed to strike, and badly. Following the Kupp touchdown, the Bengals departed on a 12 play scoring drive that was capped off by running back Joe Mixon throwing a touchdown pass to receiver Tee Higgins. It finally seemed as if the Bengals had some life in them, but getting the ball back after the score it felt like the Rams still had the momentum.
Momentum would soon swing back in Cincinnati’s favor. While running a route over the middle of the field Odell Backham Jr. fell, grabbing his knee. He would miss the remainder of the game, and it was clear that his absence dampened the Rams’ offense from this point on.
Later in that same drive, Matthew Stafford took a shot to the end zone, but Bengals safety Jessie Bates III ended up with the pass.
During the celebration Vernon Hargreaves III, who was inactive for Cincinnati, ran on the field to celebrate, picking up the penalty despite not actually playing in the game.
Despite the gift from Stafford, the score would end up holding, and the Rams went into halftime leading 13-10.
Following the halftime show, which Bengals kicker Evan McPhereson stayed out on the field to watch, the Bengals got the ball to start the second half of play.
On the first play of scrimmage of the second half, Tee Higgins got the ball from Joe Burrow, and never looked back, going in for a score from 75 yards out.
This play is one of the controversial ones, as the replay was shown, it became apparent why the usually stingy Jalen Ramsey was so far behind the play. It looked like Higgins got some of Ramsey’s facemask, but no call was made, and the Bengals took a 13-17 lead.
On their first offensive play of the half, Stafford responded by throwing his second interception of the game, putting Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense right back on the field with all the momentum in the world behind them.
The Rams defense did enough to hold the Bengals to only a field goal, and they then held a 20-13 lead in the third quarter.
It was at this point that both teams began to slow down on offense. The Rams, seemingly by their own doing, and the Bengals offensive line suddenly began to play poorly
The Rams managed to get a field goal to bring the score to 20-16, but it feels like they could have done more. Head coach Sean McVay was set on running the ball, and it just wasn’t working. It felt like second down rushing attempts were killing drive after drive for the Rams.
On the flip side, the Rams’ pass rush woke up. Aaron Donald and Von Miller came alive late in the game, and by the time it was all said and done, they had sacked Joe Burrow seven times.
The 20-16 Bengals lead held into the fourth and final quarter. Both quarterbacks had limped off of the field, but continued to tough it out in the final frame.
With the clock starting to get dangerously low the Rams finally abandoned the run game and put the ball in the hands of Stafford who began to drive the Rams down the field.
Upon entering the redzone, the flags started to fly.
A potential Rams go-ahead touchdown was wiped off the board following offsetting penalties, a holding call on the Rams, and a dead ball personal foul against the Bengals.
On a critical down, a defensive holding was called against the Bengals, the yardage wasn’t the problem, but the penalty gave the Rams an automatic first down.
Stafford targeted Kupp, as he had all game, it wasn’t completed, but it drew a pass interference this time. The foul occurred in the endzone, so the ball was placed at the one yardline.
Only needing a yard, the Rams let Stafford attempt a sneak, but Cincinnati got the stop. The very next play, Stafford got the NFL’s best receiver in one-on-one coverage and tossed up the fade for an easy score.
It was Stafford’s third TD pass of the game, and Kupp’s second receiving. After kicking the extra point the Rams lead was 23-20. Critically, because of the missed extra point earlier in the game, the Bengals only needed three to force overtime.
This, though, was when the Bengals finally ran out of magic. On a fourth and one near midfield Aaron Donald called game, getting to Burrow and focing the incompletion and ending the game and winning the Rams their second Super Bowl.
Though the game might be remembered for some of the officiating inconsistencies, it should be noted that both teams had multiple attempts to put the game out of reach, and in that last moment, it was the Rams who came out on top.
