Super Bowl LVI instant analysis: Rams rally to beat the Bengals, 23-20, as the Matthew Stafford trade delivers L.A. a title

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Matthew Stafford gamble paid off as the Rams rallied to topple the pesky Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20, to win Super Bowl LVI on Sunday.

Just over a year after coach Sean McVay and the Rams sent Jared Goff and multiple high draft picks to the Lions for Stafford, the Los Angeles-area NFL team won its second Super Bowl in franchise history on its home field at SoFi Stadium.

It was the second straight year that a team won on its own turf after the Buccaneers claimed the title in Tampa last February.

The Rams last won the Super Bowl 22 years ago when they bested the Titans. That game ended when Tennessee fell just a few yards short of the end zone in the closing seconds. While not as dramatic, the Bengals were thwarted on their last drive when Joe Burrow was wrangled by All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald on fourth down and the quarterback’s desperation throw hit the turf with just a half minute left.

Donald and the Rams’ rush defense terrorized Burrow and the leaky Bengals offensive line all game. The quarterback was sacked seven times and hit a total of 11 times.

Penalties weren’t a story in the game until very late. It’s not as if it was a clean contest, exactly, but the officials swallowed their whistles for most of the 60 minutes. But they couldn’t on the Rams’ go-ahead touchdown drive when Cooper Kupp was held on two of three plays.

The tough-as-nails receiver had a touchdown wiped out by offsetting penalties, one of which was a devastating Vonn Bell shot to Kupp after his catch. But after he was held on the next play, and a Stafford sneak at the 1-yard line was stopped short, Kupp pulled in a fade pass in the end zone and the Rams were back ahead, 23-20.

Kupp, the NFL’s offensive player of the year, had another stellar game and was named MVP. The receiver caught eight passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns, but his last grab with 1 minute, 25 seconds left will be the memory maker.

Stafford started off the game hot. He completed 9 of his first 10 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns and had a perfect 158.3 passer rating. McVay deserved a lot of credit with schemed-up passes that found several receivers wide open, most notably Kupp on the second score.

But the occasionally mistake-prone Stafford reared his head late in the second quarter when the quarterback underthrew a jump ball on third-and-long. Safety Jessie Bates III undercut the throw for an interception in the end zone when, rather than throw for the sticks or into field-goal range, the aggressive Stafford went deep.

McVay also made a number of curious decisions in play-calling. He remained insistent on running the ball long after it was clear the Bengals defense wasn’t giving anything up on the ground.

On a key fourth-quarter possession, after the Bengals were forced to punt yet again, he had Stafford hand off to Cam Akers on second-and-3, But linebacker Logan Wilson and cornerback Mike Hilton swallowed him up for a loss. And then on third down, Stafford was errant.

Rams running backs finished with only 30 rushing yards on 19 carries.

McVay’s best call, though, came on the Rams’ final drive. Faced with fourth-and-a short 1 on the Rams 30 with five minutes remaining, the coach gambled and went for it trailing, 20-16. He had Stafford hand off to his best player, Kupp, on a jet sweep that picked up 7 yards.

Stafford, overall, completed 26 of 40 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns to go along with the two picks. He had his shaky moments, but ultimately delivered in the clutch, on the 15-play, 79-drive that resulted in the winning score.

He suffered through 12 mostly-losing seasons in Detroit, but in his first season with the Rams went 12-5 in the regular season and 4-0 in the playoffs, the last victory the one that mattered the most.

The script flipped — or so it seemed — on the first two plays from scrimmage to open the second half. On the first, Burrow tossed a back-shoulder pass to the singled-up Tee Higgins. Jalen Ramsey ran step for step , but when the receiver came back for the ball, after a slight push, the Rams cornerback went flying to the ground. Higgins then waltzed into the end zone for a 75-yard touchdown and the Bengals’ first lead, 17-13.

After the ensuing kickoff, Stafford threw across the middle to receiver Ben Skowronek on first down. But the ball went through the hands of the rookie, who may not have been on the field had it not been for Odell Beckham Jr.’s knee injury, and into the waiting arms of cornerback Chidobe Awuzie.

It was Stafford’s second interception, but this one wasn’t his fault. The Bengals settled for a short field goal and a 20-13 lead, but the damage was done. Burrow, for the game, completed 22 of 33 passes for 263 yards and a touchdown.

The Bengals’ first touchdown came on a pass, but Burrow didn’t throw it. Running back Joe Mixon did on an option play, and it was a beauty. He found Higgins alone in the back of the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown that trimmed the Rams’ lead to 13-10 after a long second-quarter possession.

Mixon had relative success on the ground. He rushed for 72 yards on 15 carries. But for some reason, he wasn’t the ballcarrier on a key third-and-1 on the Bengals’ last drive. Samaje Perine was and he was stopped for no gain.

Donald was kept in check for most of the first half. But the Rams’ All-Pro defensive tackle was instrumental in forcing the Bengals to settle for the early third-quarter field goal. He had two sacks after the turnover, the second on third down.

Before the game, Rodney Harrison of NBC Sports said that Donald would likely retire if the Rams won. The future Hall of Famer declined to confirm the report afterward and said that he just wanted to enjoy his first Super Bowl victory.

Ja’Marr Chase made the catch of the game in the first quarter when he stormed by Ramsey on a go route. He lost his footing as he extended for the ball, but the rookie pulled it in with one hand. The 46-yard snag set up Cincinnati’s first score — a 28-yard Evan McPherson field goal.

Beckham caught the game’s first touchdown — a 17-yard fade over the slot cornerback Hilton — in the first quarter. And two drives later, he converted a third-and-11 on a crosser and picked up 35 yards. But Beckham suffered a knee injury on his next target. He dropped a short pass, grabbed his left knee and fell to the turf.

He eventually went inside to never return.

In other injury news, Awuzie left briefly in the third quarter with a knee injury, but he returned on the Bengals’ next defensive series.

When Burrow was sacked by Rams linebacker Von Miller early in the fourth, his knee got caught and bent awkwardly. He lay he ground for several moments before hobbling off. But he only received minor attention when he walked to the sideline and returned.

Cincinnati will have to wait another year to finally win a Super Bowl. The Bengals, a franchise that has had far more losing seasons than winning ones, will have now lost in all three of their appearances. But with the 25-year-old Burrow, they could be back very soon and on multiple occasions.