Super Bowl LVI Recap: Los Angeles Rams vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Rams WR Odell Beckham Jr. and Bengals CB Mike Hilton; Image by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images via WLWT
The 2021 NFL season was a fun one. We had our first 17 game-season, which meant none of our favorite teams could end with a .500 record. Every team had to finish with a winning record or a losing record. We had the opportunity to see new superstars emerge from across the league, including a speedster wideout from Cincinnati, a ball-hawking cornerback from Dallas, and a record-setting running-back from Indianapolis. With one game to go, we were down to two teams. We had the Cincinnati Bengals, led by recent first round picks Joe Burrow and Jamarr Chase. Despite lots of pass protection problems, the Bengals were able to take down the Raiders, Titans, and powerhouse Chiefs en-route to the Super Bowl. In the NFC, the Rams took their roster full of top-tier talent to the Super Bowl as well… defeating the Cardinals, Buccaneers, and 49ers along the way. Here’s how the final game went down.
Bengals 0 – 0 Rams, 15:00 remaining in 1st quarter
The coin shows heads. Bengals win the toss and defer to the Los Angeles Rams. Bengals Kicker Evan McPherson kicks the ball through the endzone for a touchback. The Super Bowl has begun. After three straight feeds to young RB Cam Akers, the Los Angeles Rams were faced with a 2nd and 10 at their own 36. 5th year defensive end Trey Hendrickson flies in for his seventeenth sack of the season (Regular Season + Playoffs) as Akers set an accidental pick on his own lineman Andrew Whitworth, preventing him from blocking the surging Hendrickson. After a negative rush on 3rd down, the Rams are forced to punt on the first drive of the game.
With the ball at their own 42 yard-line, the Bengals take over. After an eight-yard reception from Tyler Boyd and two rushes for minimal yards, Cincinnati head coach Zach Taylor faced a tough decision early on in the game. 4th and 1, ball on the Rams 49. Taylor dials up a 5-yard hitch route to his best weapon in rookie Jamarr Chase. Unfortunately for Chase and co., linebacker Ernest Jones was ready and swatted the ball away to give the ball back to his offense.
On a 3rd and 4 at the Bengals 44, Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford finds the NFL’s leading receiver Cooper Kupp on a swing route behind the line of scrimmage. Kupp makes a few defenders miss and takes the ball all the way to the Cincinnati 24 yard-line. A couple of plays later, Matthew Stafford lobbed a pass into the end zone, where Odell Beckham Jr. (A.K.A. OBJ) high-points the football and brings it down for the first score of the game. 7-0
Bengals 0 – 7 Rams, 6:22 remaining in 1st quarter
This quick start is very good news for the Rams, as they were infamous for their slow starts throughout the year. These were Matthew Stafford’s splits by quarter throughout the 2021 season.
Quarter 1: 67% completions, 4 TD, 4 INT, 86.6 passer rating
Quarter 2: 67% completions, 15 TD, 8 INT, 98.6 passer rating
Quarter 3: 64% completions, 10 TD, 4 INT, 107.9 passer rating
Quarter 4: 72% completions, 12 TD, 0 INT, 126.4 passer rating
After both teams go three and out, the Bengals begin their drive with some intensity. After Mixon takes a handoff to the left for 13 yards, Burrow slings a pass 50 yards in the air to his top target Jamarr Chase. Chase goes on to make an outstanding grab despite tight coverage from star cornerback Jalen Ramsey. With the ball at the Rams 11, the Bengals are looking for a touchdown to tie up the game. However, Burrow throws three straight incompletions. Rookie kicker Evan McPherson is tasked with kicking a 29-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 4… which he does.
Bengals 3 – 7 Rams, 0:31 remaining in 1st quarter
To start the second quarter, the Rams come out looking to tack onto their lead with some deep passes. On the third play of the drive, Matthew Stafford connects with OBJ again on a crosser that nets Los Angeles 35 yards. On the very next play, Stafford hits RB Darrell Henderson on a wheel route for another 25 yards. Two plays later, Stafford fakes a handoff and connects with Kupp in the back of the endzone. On a blistering 6-play, 75-yard drive, the Rams make it 13-3. Yes, 13-3… After a bad snap on the extra point, Kicker Matt Gay is unable to get an attempt off. Only six points this go-around for Los Angeles.
Bengals 3 – 13 Rams, 12:51 remaining in 2nd quarter
The Bengals have a tough task ahead of them. They must play from behind against one of the best second-half teams in football. Not to mention, they must do this behind the worst offensive line in the NFL. Joe Burrow looked up for the challenge. Since this drive is a long one (12 plays), I’m just going to quickly run through the most important parts of this big journey downfield from Cincinnati.
Play 1: Burrow connects with Tyler Boyd for an 11-yard gain to CIN 39.
Play 3: Burrow finds Jamarr Chase on a slant for a 10-yard gain to CIN 49.
Play 4: Joe Mixon shows off on a shifty 14-yard run up the middle to LAR 37.
Play 7: Tee Higgins pulls in a 14-yard reception on a curl route, down at LAR 19.
Play 10: Burrow throws a screen pass to Chase for a 4-yard gain on 3rd and 2, down at LAR 7
Play 12: Zac Taylor dials up a trick play, where RB Joe Mixon throws to Tee Higgins in the endzone after receiving it from a toss from Burrow. Touchdown Cincinnati. Extra point is good.
Bengals 10 – 13 Rams, 5:47 remaining in 2nd quarter
The Rams are still on the front foot with a three-point lead. After a couple of first downs, the Rams have the ball in Cincinnati territory. On 1st and 10 at Cincinnati’s 39 yard-line, backup TE Kendall Blanton is flagged for a false start penalty. After an incompletion and one yard gain, Stafford tries to force a pass to WR Van Jefferson on 3rd and 14. Jefferson, who ran a streak all the way to the endzone, was undercut by safety Jessie Bates. Cincinnati gets the ball back. It should be noted that Odell Beckham Jr. suffers a torn ACL on this drive. Just like that, Stafford loses one of his best receiving options.
With two minutes left, the Bengals have an opportunity to eliminate the Rams’ lead before halftime. On a 3rd and 6 from their own 25, the Bengals terrible offensive line comes back to bite them. Rams linebacker Leonard Floyd sacks Joe Burrow, and the game goes to half.
HALFTIME
Coming out of the half, the Bengals didn’t take long to make their way downfield. 12 seconds to be exact. On the first play of the drive, Joe Burrow attacks Jalen Ramsey again with a bomb to receiver Tee Higgins. As Ramsey falls while in coverage, Higgins is able to trot all the way to the endzone without any doubt. On the play, Higgins did tug at Ramsey’s facemask as the ball was coming in, causing Ramsey to fall over. The referees missed the blatant offensive pass-interference penalty, and the Bengals were just about gifted 7 points.
Bengals 17 – 13 Rams, 14:48 remaining in 3rd quarter
The Rams come out and responded with a one-play drive of their own. Their drive, however, also ended in favor of the opposing Bengals. Stafford’s 1st down pass went through the hands of Ben Skowronek and into the hands of Cincinnati cornerback Chidobe Awuzie. The loss of Odell Beckham Jr. is already beginning to haunt this Rams offense.
Starting with good field position, the Bengals call pass plays on 6 of 7 plays in hopes of obtaining a two-possession lead. After a decent enough first-half from their offensive-line, the Bengals O-Line could not keep it going. 3-Time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald comes up with two big sacks on the drive, including one on third and three from the Rams 11 yard-line. For the second time this game, The Bengals had to settle for a field-goal in the redzone.
Bengals 20 – 13 Rams, 10:19 remaining in 3rd quarter
The Los Angeles Rams begin their next drive at their own 25 yard-line. After a couple plays with minimal gains, Stafford connects with Darrell Henderson for his second big reception of the game, this one good for 15 yards and a first down. On 2nd and 9 from their own 43, Stafford connects with Cooper Kupp for another first down. This one brings the Rams into Cincinnati territory. After a 16-yard completion to Brycen Hopkkins and a 7-yard completion to Ben Skworonek on consecutive plays, the Rams were in a prime position to tie up to the game. It’s 3rd and 5 at the 23 yard-line, and Sean McVay tries to pull a trick from his sleeve. On a “Philly-Special”-esque play design, Cooper Kupp throws to quarterback Matt Stafford who is about seven yards downfield. However, the pass sails over Stafford’s head and the Rams must settle for 3.
Bengals 20 – 16 Rams, 6:02 remaining in 3rd quarter
For the next 15-ish minutes of gametime, each team’s defense stepped up and didn’t allow the opposing offense to do anything whatsoever. Here’s a quick rundown of each drive over this period:
Bengals: 3 Plays, -3 yards, 1 sack allowed, PUNT
Rams: 3 Plays, -3 yards, 1 sack allowed, PUNT
Bengals: 3 Plays, 5 yards, 2 sacks allowed, PUNT
Rams: 3 Plays, 3 yards, PUNT
Bengals: 5 Plays, -2 yards, 1 sack allowed, PUNT
Rams: 3 Plays, 6 yards, PUNT
Bengals: 7 Plays, 24 yards, PUNT
Over a six-drive span, 6 total yards were gained. 5 sacks were allowed (4 by the Bengals, that is now 7 for the game but who’s counting). The Rams finally decide enough is enough and pulled off a 15-play drive that went 79 yards for a touchdown. The drive started with 6:13 remaining in the fourth quarter and ended with 1:25 remaining in the fourth quarter. A few key plays include a 7-yard rush on a 4th and 1 by Cooper Kupp, a 22-yard reception on a post route by Cooper Kupp, and a somewhat controversial defensive holding penalty on linebacker Logan Wilson to give the Rams 1st and goal and the 4. To secure the touchdown, Stafford hit Cooper Kupp on a back-shoulder fade for his second TD of the game.
Bengals 20 – 23 Rams, 1:25 remaining in 4th quarter
It all comes down this. Can the sophomore quarterback with many nicknames (“Joe Cool”, “Joey Brrr”, “Joe Shiesty”) take his team down the field in 85 seconds to tie or take the lead? On the first play, Burrow hits Chase for 17 yards. Ball at CIN 42, 79 seconds left. On the next play, Burrow finds Tyler Boyd for 9 yards. Ball at LAR 49, 52 seconds left. After an incompletion and a big stuff from Aaron Donald on a run up the middle from Samaje Perine, the Bengals faced a 4th and 1. Ball at LAR 49, 43 seconds left. Unfortunately for Cincinnati residents, their infamous O-Line let them down yet again. The left side of the offensive line collapses on Joe Burrow, and he is thrown to the ground by Aaron Donald as he tries to find Samaje Perine a few yards downfield. The pass falls incomplete, and the Rams win Super Bowl LVI.
