Rams win the Super Bowl

RAMS 23

BENGALS 20

Was this the most blah close game in Super Bowl history? 

Usually a close Super Bowl is memorable, with signature plays and moments and even teams. I didn't really feel that way with this game. The standout was the halftime show. The signature moments of these playoffs for me are in preceding games. Neither of these teams are anything approaching an all time great. 

I picked the Bengals. I bought in to the Joe Burrow horseshoe after what I had seen in these other Bengals playoff games, that he was the new Brady and would win due to just strange shit always going his way, despite thinking the Rams were the better team.

I mean, I was almost right. 

Even as the Rams built a 13-3 lead it never felt like they were playing that great. And they had a botched PAT after their second touchdown that would loom large later. The Bengals closed it to 13-10 late in the half. The Rams botched a late drive with a Matthew Stafford pick that was basically a punt. 13-10 was the score at the half. 

Things swung wildly towards Cincinnati immediately after the break. Burrow launched a deep ball, which was hauled in by Higgins for a 75 yard touchdown. This play was possible because Higgins grabbed Jalen Ramsey by the facemask and tossed him out of the way. Honestly one of the most egregious non-calls I have ever seen in such a big game. 

The Rams 1st play of the next drive was a tipped pass and a pick, setting the Bengals up for a short field. The Rams were reeling, and on the verge of being down 24-13, and having to play big time catch up against a Bengals defense that was playing better than expected.

But as it turned out, this short field was the last time the Bengals would even get closer than midfield the rest of the game. 

The Rams pass rush vs the Bengals OL was considered a huge mismatch, but in the 1st half it was a standstill. Not anymore. Aaron Donald broke through for a huge 3rd down sack to hold the Bengals to a field goal, and the floodgates were open after that.

Between the field goal and their final drive, the Bengals only gained about 50 yards total, and the sacks were plentiful. Burrow ended up being sacked 7 times total.

But the Rams didn't exactly take control of things on the other side of the ball. A lot of that came down to coaching. Sean McVay just would not stop calling generic runs up the middle, even long after it was apparent the Bengals defensive front was not going to budge. Numerous drives were doomed by basically wasting downs on doomed runs. Then there was the moronic decision to try a Philly Special rerun on 3rd down, with Kupp throwing badly incomplete to Stafford. 

Most of the second half was punting. This is why I can't call this a great game.

We got late into the 4th though and here came the Rams. Kupp took a sweep to gain a huge 1st down, and the Rams were off. Stafford picked the Bengals apart bit by bit. This wasn't exactly Joe Montana in the last Bengals super bowl, but it was accomplishing the same thing. 

The Rams got inside the 10, and then a game that had been very much not influenced by the refs suddenly became very much about the refs. A 3rd down incompletion turned into a 1st down on a holding penalty. Then a TD pass got called back due to offsetting penalties. Then another incompletion got flagged as DPI. This should have been a dramatic high point of the game, but the refs were turning the moment into a joke. And for iffy calls in a game where for 58 minutes the refs did not throw iffy flags (or even obvious ones).

Finally Stafford did hit Kupp in the front corner of the endzone, and the Rams had taken the lead. 

I still thought we were at worst heading for overtime, cause of the Burrow horseshoe, and the Bengals final drive started like they were definitely going to score. But then after a 9 yard gain, came a Burrow deep ball to nobody, and a stuffed run, setting up a 4th and 1 near midfield.

Here, in the biggest play of his career, Aaron Donald blew through the line and put immediate heat on Burrow, who could not get away, and flung the ball desperately to no avail. The Rams had the game.

Surprisingly, the MVP went to Kupp. I am always glad when a non-QB wins the MVP, but I feel like it should have been either Stafford or Donald.

So the Rams all-in approach worked out. They win their 2nd Super Bowl ever, and first title in LA since 1951. 

The Bengals true Cinderella run came up short. I guess Burrow isn't the new Brady. Yet anyway. 

I feel like this Super Bowl will not prove that memorable over time. The divisional and championship rounds were historically great. Brady being sent into retirement, Rodgers getting eliminated at home, the Chiefs-Bills classic, and the Bengals run, those are the memorable things.

So now Kevin O'Connell gets to come lead the Vikings fresh off a super bowl title. And this game proved that with the right coaching, a QB who was previously thought to not have what it takes by many, can help lead a team to a championship.