Ricky Dimon
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There were some twists and turns along the way, but in the end Super Bowl LVI played out the way we and many others thought it would. The Los Angeles Rams’ defensive line dominated pretty much from start to finish, paving the way to a hard-fought, low-scoring victory over the underdog Cincinnati Bengals. LA’s 23-20 triumph cashed our 3-star play on under 48.5 points, while the Rams couldn’t quite cover a -4.5 spread and bettors who got them at -4 painfully lost instead of pushed because of a botched extra point in the second quarter.
Sure the game was somewhat marred by injuries, terrible officiating, and occasional poor football, but all in all it was a competitive, entertaining Super Bowl with a deserving champion. Heck, even the halftime show received high praise — one of the few to do so over the past decade.
Let’s reflect on what transpired at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
The better team won
The Rams weren’t by far the better team, but they were the better team.
They won even though Odell Beckham Jr. left in the second quarter with what looked like a bad knee injury after being in early MVP contention with 2 catches for 52 yards and a touchdown (my pick of OBJ being the first TD scorer at +800 was a big winner!). Until Kupp completely took over down the stretch, Beckham’s absence changed the entire dynamic of the game with Matthew Stafford lacking the benefit of any reliable weapon other than Kupp.
They won even though an offensive pass interference call was missed on Cincinnati’s first play from scrimmage in the second half, resulting in a 75-yard touchdown bomb from Joe Burrow to Tee Higgins.
They won even though they lost the turnover battle 2-0. How did they do it? Most importantly, the Rams had the best player on both sides of the ball. Kupp went for 92 yards and 2 touchdowns on 8 receptions. He also ran for a 7 yards on 4th and 1 during what proved to be the game-winning drive. Aaron Donald had 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss, and 3 quarterback hits. On the Bengals’ final drive, Donald made an incredible tackle on 3rd-and-1 and then forced a clinching incomplete pass by throwing Burrow to the ground on 4th down. As a team, Los Angeles finished with Super Bowl record-tying 7 sacks. Its defensive line versus Cincinnati’s offensive line was always expected to be the key matchup in this contest. That is exactly how it turned out.
The Rams (-4) became the first team since the Steelers in SB XLIII to win and not cover in the Super Bowl 🏈
(Via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/rkjjuY5uT1
— Pickswise (@Pickswise) February 14, 2022
Yes, the Rams also got some help. A holding call on the Bengals on 3rd-and-goal at the 8-yard line may have saved LA’s winning drive. Burrow suffered a knee injury with 12 minutes left and was never the same again. I’m not sure what game Al Michaels was watching, because he declared that Burrow was fine. I guess Michaels didn’t notice that the former No. 1 overall pick basically couldn’t move for the rest of the game. That prevented the Bengals from padding their lead and then put a significant dent in their chances of answering the Rams’ late score.
When it was all said and done, injuries and bad calls cancelled each other out. The right team won.
Super Bowl LVII
Can the Rams repeat in 2022-23? They are the third favorites (tied with Dallas) at +1200 on the early list of Super Bowl LVII odds. Like many teams that win it all, however, there are a lot of question marks going into the offseason. It’s no secret that Los Angeles went all in this year. It has mortgaged basically all of its upcoming first-round draft picks, Beckham is a free agent and now has a knee injury, and the statuses of other veteran players are uncertain.
As for the Bengals, they are ahead of their learning curve. Even a Lombardi Trophy next season would be earlier in the Burrow era than anyone could have imagined.
Nobody knows, of course, what’s store for Super Bowl LVII. But I can’t wait to find out.
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