Los Angeles Wins the Super Bowl!
Los Angeles was the location of the main event for NFL elite. The Super Bowl LVI was held at SoFi Stadium, with the Los Angeles Rams representing the NFC and the Cincinnati Bengals representing the AFC. Unlike the last four Super Bowls, all of which were determined by two scorers, Super Bowl LVI between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals remained close until the end. The Rams got on the board first and were leading by 10 points at the beginning of the second quarter, but a Bengals trick play allowed running back Joe Mixon to toss wideout Tee Higgins, scoring a touchdown pass shortly before halftime; changing the momentum. An ill-timed Matthew Stafford interception, with just over two minutes to go in the first half sucked all the air out of SoFi Stadium. The Rams still led by three at halftime, but it didn’t feel like it.
When the Bengals got the ball back to start the second half, they immediately made the most of their opportunity. Joe Burrow connected with Higgins for a 75-yard touchdown, to give them their first lead of the game, 17-13. Another Stafford interception came off the hands of Rams wideout Ben Skowronek, who took on a bigger role in the second half after Odell Beckham Jr. went down with a non-contact injury in the second quarter. Stafford and Cooper Kupp did what they had done all season, when the game was on the line, they dialed in. On first-and-goal inside two minutes, offsetting penalties nullified a four-yard Kupp touchdown. Three plays later, Stafford connected again with his No. 1 weapon for a one-yard score, to give the Rams the final 23-20 lead that Aaron Donald would secure with a crucial pressure on Burrow on the following drive.
