Super Bowl | The Rams stars have risen

It was not easy, really not, but the Los Angeles Rams won their bet. After assembling a team of star players over the past few years, the Rams won the Super Bowl for the second time in franchise history with a 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night.

Miguel Bujold
The Press

The Rams were up 13-10 after the first half, but it didn’t look too good for them. Odell Beckham Jr. had just fallen in action with a knee injury and it looked like the Cincinnati Bengals were going to take control of the game. The famous “momentum” was clearly on their side.

And the second half couldn’t have started better for the Bengals. The referees first gave them a touchdown on their first play of the third quarter by not imposing a penalty on Tee Higgins, who had clearly held cornerback Jalen Ramsey by his facial protector. Rather than find themselves in a first-down situation with 25 yards to go from their own 10-line, the Bengals took the lead for the first time of the night, 17-13.

Then, on the Rams’ first game of the next series, receiver Ben Skowronek, who took the place of Beckham Jr., was unable to control a pass from Matthew Stafford and practically sent the ball into the hands of the cornerback Chidobe Awuzie. An interception that allowed the Bengals to start their series at the Rams 31 line. No, that didn’t look good at all for Aries.

But it was from this moment that the defensive front of the Rams, which had been very discreet until this point, started to work. The Rams limited the Bengals to a field goal, which made it 20-13, then gave up a single point to Joe Burrow and company.

It was said before the game that Aaron Donald needed a memorable performance to cement his place among the greatest defensive players in NFL history. That’s exactly what he did.

The defensive end finished the game with two sacks from the quarter and notably stopped running back Samaje Perine with one arm on a 3 and 1 in the last minute of play. The more the game progressed, the more Donald was dominant.

In fact, all of the Rams’ star players made key plays in the fourth quarter. Donald and Von Miller dominated the line of scrimmage. Stafford orchestrated a 15-play, 79-yard streak that ended with the game-winning touchdown. And it was Cooper Kupp who scored that touchdown, his second of the game. Kupp also made several crucial plays during the decisive series, including a run that allowed his team to win a first down in a situation of 4 and 1 in their own territory.

Must say that the Rams were also helped by a few penalties which the Bengals received in the last minutes of the game. But after the gaffe of the officials at the start of the third quarter, it was a swing of the pendulum…

Without Beckham son

Would the Rams’ task have been so difficult if Beckham Jr. had not left the game in the second quarter? Their running game surprisingly never managed to produce (43 yards on 23 carries). The Rams were without their tight end Tyler Higbee, then his replacement, Kendall Blanton, was injured in turn. Stafford basically played with two receivers, Kupp and Van Jefferson…

If the Rams offensive line struggled on the ground game, it offered very good protection to Stafford, who completed 26 of 40 passes for 283 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. The first interception came on a 3^and and 14 and had the effect of a punt, and Stafford was not to blame for the second.

When the game was in the balance, Stafford trusted Kupp, who answered the call brilliantly. In addition to being the most productive receiver in the NFL, Kupp is an extremely reliable player, and he showed it in the final minutes of 56^and Super Bowl. He fully deserved his Most Outstanding Player of the Game award, although Stafford and Donald would have been great picks as well.

Hellish pressure on Burrow

As expected, it was ultimately on the line of scrimmage that the match was decided. After a very good first half, the Bengals offensive line was unable to neutralize the Rams defensive front from the third quarter. The latter exerted pressure game after game after game after game.

Joe Burrow was the victim of 7 sacks, a record in Super Bowl history, tied with Roger Staubach. The Dallas Cowboys quarterback was roughed up by the Pittsburgh Steelers in January 1976.

Facing relentless pressure in the second half, Burrow was unable to make enough “big” plays to win. He finished his night with 263 yards (22 for 33) and a touchdown pass, the one thrown to Higgins. As for rookie Ja’Marr Chase, he caught 5 passes for 89 yards.

The Bengals’ rushing game was more effective than that of the Rams, primarily Joe Mixon, who gained 72 yards on 15 carries. Given their difficulty in protecting Burrow, one can certainly question their play choices. It would have been better for them to use the race more. Because Mixon was picking up some nice wins and because that might have served to slow down the Rams defensive front.

What future for the Rams?

It’s far from certain that Burrow and the Bengals will be back at the Super Bowl, talk to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, who haven’t been there since winning 12 years ago. That said, this team should see its share of success over the next few years, having now lost all three Super Bowls it has played.

The future seems a little more nebulous on the side of the Rams. Over the weekend, head coach Sean McVay and Donald took turns talking about the possibility of retiring earlier than anticipated. Left tackle and offensive line leader Andrew Whitworth will likely shed his helmet this winter. Beckham Jr. could become a free agent in March.

But in the immediate future, the Rams will enjoy a championship won in their own stadium, as they dreamed of doing. Owner Stan Kroenke and the organization had bet big and big to win the Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium. Their go-anywhere worked as Stafford, Miller and Beckham Jr., before injury, all contributed significantly to their victory.

Who risks nothing, gains nothing, and we have seen over the past two years that an aggressive strategy can sometimes be very profitable. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Rams both celebrated under confetti on their home turf after racking up big acquisitions.

We can therefore assume that some teams will now be much more active on the free agent market and on the transaction market. The month of March should therefore be quite eventful.