The 102nd NFL season concluded Sunday with the highly awaited matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI. This year, fans saw the return of the big game to the city of Los Angeles. The 57th edition of the game featured the elite Bengals offense facing off against the star-studded Rams defense. Leading up to the faceoff, the Bengals defeated the one-seeded Tennesse Titans and two seeded Kansas City Chiefs while the Rams overcame the two-seeded defending-champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the red hot San Francisco 49ers.
To get the game started, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson provided a wrestling-like introduction to get fans fired up. This excitement lasted throughout the first half as the hometown Rams found the endzone twice to take a 13 to 10 lead at halftime. The halftime show featured a collection of artists such as Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Bilge, Kenrick Lamar and 50 cent. The performance generated lots of fan approval through its unique paring of notorious artists. Senior Andrew Daggs appreciates the linking of artists and says the history of the artists made it special.
“I really enjoyed the show,” Daggs said. “I liked how they brought back old Hip Hop styles and really celebrated a whole generation of artists.”
Following the halftime performance, the Bengals were quick to respond, with quarterback Joe Burrow hitting Tee Higgins for a 75-yard touchdown strike on the first play of the second half. Immediately after the score, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford threw an interception on the first play of the Rams drive. The turnover allowed the Bengals to extend their lead to a score of 20 to 13, with all ten points occurring in the initial five minutes of the second half. After the Rams tacked on 3 more points to make it a 20 to 16 game, the pace of the game dramatically slowed down, with the teams punting back and forth seven consecutive times and only generating 30 yards of total offense through the stretch.
With 6:13 left in the game, the Rams found themselves on their own 21-yard line, needing a touchdown to take the lead in the final stages. As Stafford began to work the ball down the field, he would find eventual Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp four times for 39 yards and the go-ahead touchdown with under two minutes left. Getting the ball back with 1:25 left in the fourth quarter, Burrow found himself in usual territory, having since completed two game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime in the preceding games. However, after a quick 17 yard gain, the drive stalled and the Bengals found themselves in a fourth and one situation with a conversion needed to extend the hopes of victory. The stealthy Rams defensive line found themselves victorious yet again, getting to Burrow and forcing an incompletion to seal the team’s 23 to 20 victory.
The overall reaction to the matchup largely varied. Following several mediocre Super Bowl Games, freshman Cooper Flannery was just happy to see a good game.
“It was a solid Super Bowl, the best one we’ve had in years,” Flannery said. “After a few really disappointing Super Bowls, this one was actually entertaining and I was glad to have a super bowl that I could just sit and watch all game.”
While Flannery was excited about the intense matchup, other fans thought the game was more of a slugfest. Junior Anton Kusik was not cheering for either team and says the officiating contributed to a less exciting ending.
“It was kind of boring, there wasn’t much back and forth. The refs kind of just blew it all up with lots of bad calls. It could have been a better game,” Kusik said.
With conflicting views on the intensity of the game, Flannery is a fan of neither team but says he was rooting for the Rams and feeling their excitement during this game.
“I was cheering for the Rams,” Flannery said. “During the final drive of the game, I couldn’t even explain what my blood pressure was doing. I mean, I was screaming so loud.”