Los Angeles Rams win Super Bowl against Cincinnati Bengals

DThe Los Angeles Rams are the new Super Bowl winners. In the final of the National Football League (NFL), quarterback Matthew Stafford’s team defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23:20 (13:10) on Sunday evening (local time). “It feels so incredibly good, I’m so grateful for what we’ve achieved as a team,” said receiver Cooper Kupp, who was then named the most valuable player in the final, beaming with joy at the award ceremony.

It became clear in the first few minutes of the game that it was all or nothing in this game. The Bengals’ defense took the risk – and was rewarded: Trey Hendrickson broke through to Rams quarterback Stafford and brought him down. Los Angeles had to leave the field early without having achieved anything. Then the Bengals’ offensive also took full risks – but was not rewarded for this: the fourth attempt on the center line failed, the Rams received the ball in a promising position and struck ice cold for the first time.

First Cooper Kupp caught a pass that gained more than 20 yards, then Stafford found receiver star Odell Beckham Jr. in the end zone (who promptly demonstrated his dancing skills with a “moonwalk”). Touchdown Los Angeles, it was the first points of the game.

Stafford shows his throwing skills

Subsequently, the game developed mainly through the air. Bengals quarterback Burrow found his key receiver Ja’Marr Chase with a halfway pass, and a field goal by kicker Evan McPherson then gave Cincinnati the first points. Then Rams playmaker Stafford also showed his throwing skills: a 35-yard pass to Beckham, a 25-yard pass to Darrell Henderson, an 18-yard pass to Kupp, a touchdown.

That was too easy. So the Bengals were challenged, especially in pass defense, but also on offense, which had generated enthusiasm far beyond the borders of Cincinnati this season. Rookie Chase, for example, set a new Bengals record for receiving yards with a total of 1,445 yards in his first NFL season. Burrow, with often outstanding performances and a total of 34 touchdown passes, has ensured that many experts now trust him, his in the past Decades of being able to lead mostly unsuccessful franchises into a successful future.

Said and done. The Ohio State side combined across the field, finding gaps in the Rams defense before surprising them with a trick play. Not Burrow got the ball, but running back Joe Mixon. He did something he doesn’t normally do (usually runs, pretty fast too) and threw the ball into the end zone. There stood Tee Higgins, touchdown Cincinnati.

The fact that the Rams remained at 13:10 until halftime was mainly due to two people. On the one hand to quarterback Stafford, who apparently wanted to take the Bengals as a role model – and also took the risk. But he wasn’t rewarded either: his pass into the opponent’s end zone just before the end of the second quarter ended up in cover, defensive specialist Jessie Bates III managed the first interception of the game.

So both teams had a lot to talk about in their cabins. However, what was discussed in the Rams went terribly wrong at the beginning of the second half. Burrow and the Bengals needed just one play and twelve seconds of play to shake the stadium in Los Angeles, which was filled with significantly more Cincinnati fans. A pass to Higgins, 75 yards, touchdown.

All of this must have felt for the Rams like jumping into the ice barrel, because they presented themselves in a similarly shocked manner in the minutes that followed. Worse still, a Stafford throw ended up not in the hands of receiver Ben Skowronek, but in the hands of Bengals defender Chidobe Awuyzie, who grabbed it with lightning speed. The second interception of the game.

Coach McVay seemed paralyzed on the sidelines, and apparently the security forces seemed to be too. Despite enormous safety precautions, one of the 70,048 spectators made it onto the field (the cameras stopped as if on command, graphics and statistics for the game appeared on the huge, rotating stadium screen), it took a few moments for the “racer” to catch up and be brought off the pitch could become.

A field goal by kicker Matt Gay then calmed McVay’s nerves a bit. And the dreaded Rams defensive also grabbed a lot. Within a very short time, Aaron Donald, Von Miller and Co. brought down playmaker Burrow four times, the Bengals’ offensive game faltered for the first time in this Super Bowl.

This is exactly what Los Angeles used for the grand finale. First and foremost coach McVay, who now also took the full risk – and was richly rewarded for it. On a fourth attempt just before his own end zone, he left his players on the field instead of gaining safety with a punt. Kupp found a gap, the Rams were still in the game. And suddenly wide awake again. A long pass from Stafford to Kupp brought the team from California just before the opposing end zone, another pass from Stafford to Kupp caused the big turnaround. Touchdown, 24:20, only 1:25 left on the clock.

Cincinnati tried everything in those remaining moments, again with players staying on the field on a fourth try. But this time without success: Rams defenseman Donald, one of the best defensive players in the league, broke through to quarterback Burrow and tripped him up, making the decision 50 seconds before the end of the game. With Burrow down for the seventh time of the game and all the Bengals’ dreams shattered, Los Angeles experienced what Coach McVay would later describe as “sheer luck” at the awards ceremony.