A Recap of Super Bowl LVI

After the Rams and the Bengals won their respective conference championships in two close games, both teams were looking forward to their final game of the 2021-2022 season at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The stadium was at full capacity (70,240 fans) and more than 112 million people were watching the game from home, making it the most popular domestic sporting event in the last five years. Adding to the energy was a surprise opening from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who was even more lively than you would expect. You could almost feel the excitement in the air as the two teams took the field.

Despite the energy, the game got off to a slow start. While the Bengals won the coin toss, they chose to start on defense. Matthew Stafford (the Rams quarterback) and the Rams offense got a few first downs but then were forced to punt. Similarly, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and his team could not get much going on their offensive, and they gave up a turnover on downs. However, the game soon picked up with a Rams touchdown by Odell Beckham Jr. and a Bengals field goal by Evan McPherson, making the score 7-3 Rams at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Rams came out quick with a 75-yard touchdown drive ending in a Cooper Kupp 11-yard touchdown reception. However, there was a botched hold on the extra point attempt, so the score remained 13-3. The Bengals then had a 75-yard drive of their own, which culminated into a beautifully executed trick play for a 6-yard touchdown pass from running back Joe Mixon to wide receiver Tee Higgins. The game remained 13-10 for the rest of the half.

The halftime show was truly something to behold. Headliners Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, and Kendrick Lamar along with surprise guests 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak showed that hip hop/rap can work at one of the world’s biggest sporting events. The most iconic moment had to be when Eminem took a knee in remembrance of fellow rapper Tupac Shakur, better known as 2Pac, who passed away back in 1996. But in general, it was just an incredible show from beginning to end. The stage design, the song setlist, the singing itself, everything was amazing during this performance. If you want to check it out for yourself, click on the video to the right!

The beginning of the second half was stunning and controversial. On the first play of the half, Joe Burrow passed to Tee Higgins for a 75-yard touchdown, but the play soon went under review because of an alleged facemask grab from Higgins. However, the play stood in the end, and the Bengals took a 17-13 lead. After that, the game slowed back down, as both teams took on a more defensive focus. By the end of the third quarter, each team had only managed to score a field goal, and the score settled to 20-16.

The fourth quarter began with more punts and turnovers, however, with about 7 minutes to go in the game, the Rams began a 15-play and 79-yard drive that seemed unstoppable. This drive saw 3 defensive penalties, a failed QB sneak, and more. With 1:25 to go in the game, Stafford finally hit Kupp for a 1-yard touchdown to make it 23-20 Rams. The Bengals were then forced to respond quickly to keep the game going. But their offense just couldn’t connect, and on the final play of the game, Aaron Donald wrapped up Burrow and forced him to throw an incomplete pass on 4th and 1. The game ended 23-20 in the Rams’ favor.