Los Angeles Rams Win Super Bowl 56 Over Bengals 23-20

Rams WR Cooper Kupp secured a 1-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford with 1:25 left and the Rams' defense matched a Super Bowl record with seven sacks to propel the Los Angeles Rams to their first Super Bowl victory since 1999. The Rams, who won their first NFL title representing Los Angeles since 1951, also became the second straight team to win the Super Bowl in its home stadium, following Tampa Bay the year prior.

Kupp cemented Super Bowl MVP honors on that winning drive, with four receptions for 39 yards, including the game winning touchdown catch. Kupp, who led the NFL during the regular season in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches, also kept the championship march alive from the Rams' 30, when he ran for 7 yards on fourth-and-1. Following Kupp's touchdown, the Rams' relentless pass rush iced the game, pressuring Joe Burrow on a fourth-and-1 incompletion. Kupp finished with eight receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns, and Sean McVay, 36, became the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl.

While the second half ended in the Rams' column, it began squarely in favor of the Bengals. Just 12 seconds into the third quarter, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow found Tee Higgins down the left sideline for a 75-yard touchdown, erasing the Rams' 13-10 halftime lead. Then, on their ensuing possession, an Evan McPherson field goal extended the Bengals' lead to 20-13.

But defense kept the Rams in the game, forcing four straight punts. Six of Los Angeles' seven sacks came in the second half, including two each by Rams stalwarts Aaron Donald and Von Miller. Cincinnati managed just one conversion on eight third-down attempts after halftime.

Super Bowl LVI Scoring Summary

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
Source: NFL
Rams	7	6	3	7	23
Bengals	3	7	10	0	20

Super Bowl LVI Scoring Drive Summary

Qtr	Time	Plays	Yard	TOP	Team	Scoring Play	Rams	Bengals
TOP = ime of possession; Source: NFL
1	6:22	6	50	3:35	LAR	Odell Beckham Jr. 17-yard TD reception from Matthew Stafford, Matt Gay PAT	7	0
1	0:28	6	59	1:41	CIN	29-yard field goal by Evan McPherson	7	3
2	12:51	6	75	2:37	LAR	Cooper Kupp 11-yard TD reception from Stafford, 2-point pass failed	13	3
2	5:47	12	75	7:04	CIN	Tee Higgins 6-yard TD reception from Joe Mixon, McPherson PAT	13	10
3	14:48	1	75	0:12	CIN	Higgins 75-yard TD reception from Joe Burrow, McPherson PAT	13	17
3	10:15	8	11	4:23	CIN	38-yard FG by McPherson	13	20
3	5:58	10	52	4:17	LAR	41-yard FG by Gay	16	20
4	1:25	15	79	4:48	LAR	Kupp 1-yard TD reception from Stafford, Gay PAT	23	20

Super Bowl LVI Game Summary

First Half

The Bengals won the coin toss and deferred to the second half; the Rams received the ball at the kickoff. Cincinnati's Trey Hendrickson sacked Matthew Stafford, forcing the Rams to punt. The Bengals drove towards midfield, but stalled on fourth down, when Ernest Jones knocked down Joe Burrow's pass to Ja'Marr Chase. Los Angeles took over at their own 49-yard-line. Stafford completed a 20-yard completion to Cooper Kupp on 3rd-and-4. The Rams got into the red zone on the next play with a 4-yard Henderson rush. Two plays later, the game's first score came by way of a 17-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Odell Beckham Jr.

On the ensuing drive the Bengals went three-and-out, and Kevin Huber's punt was downed at the Los Angeles 28-yard-line. The Rams were similarly unproductive on their next drive, when a delay of game penalty erased a five-yard gain on first down and a catch by Van Jefferson on third down was short of a first down. Hekker's punt was returned to the Cincinnati 30-yard-line, where the Bengals started their next series. On the drive's second play, a 46-yard pass from Burrow to Chase advanced the ball to the Los Angeles 11-yard-line, though three straight incomplete passes forced a 29-yard field goal attempt, which was converted by Evan McPherson, making the score 7–3 Rams.

After a touchback, the Rams got the ball on their own 25-yard-line; they ran one play, an Akers rush for a loss of one yard, before the first quarter ended.

The Rams started the second quarter facing 2nd-and-11 on their own 24-yard-line. An unsuccessful deep pass from Stafford to Kupp was immediately followed by a 35-yard pass to Beckham and a 25-yard pass to Henderson. From the Cincinnati 16-yard-line, Henderson rushed for five yards before Stafford passed to Kupp for an 11-yard touchdown. The extra point was missed as Hekker mishandled the snap, keeping the Rams lead at 13–3.

The ensuing kickoff was a touchback and the Bengals advanced the ball 75 yards in 14 plays, with Burrow completing 5/5 passes for 38 yards while Joe Mixon rushed 6 times for 26 yards. Mixon took a pitch from Burrow and then passed to Tee Higgins for a 6-yard-touchdown. Another touchback followed and the Rams began their drive with a pair of plays totaling 19 yards, which got them to their own 44-yard-line. After a knee injury to Beckham Jr., which sidelined him for the rest of the game, a false start penalty backed them up five yards. The drive ended on 3rd-and-14 at the Bengals' 43-yard-line, when Stafford's pass downfield was intercepted Jessie Bates in the end zone for a touchback. The Bengals got possession at their own 10-yard-line (backed up ten yards as the result of an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty). The short drive proved unsuccessful and they punted with 42 seconds remaining. The Rams responded with a drive that was even shorter, as they went three-and-out in 26 seconds and punted back to Cincinnati; Burrow then took a knee to end the first half.

Second Half

The Bengals took their first lead of the game on the first play of the second half, when Burrow threw a deep pass to Higgins on near the left sideline, who was tangled up with defensive back Jalen Ramsey. Just before the ball arrived, Ramsey fell down, enabling Higgins to catch the pass uncontested and race to the end zone for a 75-yard touchdown. Replays showed Higgins grabbing Ramsey's facemask before the catch, but no penalty flag was thrown and the touchdown stood, giving the Bengals a 17–13 lead.

Things worsened quickly for the Rams, as Stafford threw a pass that bounced off the hand of receiver Ben Skowronek and was intercepted at the Rams' 32-yard-line by Chidobe Awuzie. Cincinnati was able to capitalize with a 38-yard field goal made by McPherson, after being pushed back nine yards by a sack by Aaron Donald on the previous play. Now leading by seven points, the Bengals kicked off for a touchback. Shortly into the drive, the Rams faced a 3rd-and-8, which they converted for 15 yards with a pass from Stafford to Henderson. Overall, the drive covered 11-plays and 52 yards, with Stafford completing 4/5 passes for 44 yards before Matt Gay's 41-yard field goal made the score 20–16 with 6:02 left in the third quarter.

Four consecutive three-and-outs followed, with the Bengals punting with 43 seconds remaining in the quarter and the Rams running a single play, a five-yard Akers rush to the Cincinnati 47-yard-line, before the third quarter came to an end.

The Rams punted three plays into the fourth quarter, giving the Bengals the ball at their own 16-yard-line. A 16-yard pass from Burrow to Boyd on second down went for a 16-yard gain, but from there the Cincinnati offense stalled and an unnecessary roughness penalty on third down forced a punt on 4th-and-29, which was returned to the Los Angeles 35-yard-line. The Rams punted the ball back after another three-and-out of their own, and Cincinnati took over after the punt went out of bounds at their 16-yard-line. A 12-yard rush by Mixon gained a first down on the drive's first play and a 3-yard pass from Burrow to Chris Evans then gained another first down on 3rd-and-2; however, Cincinnati was not able to gain another first down and punted three plays later on 4th-and-9.

Starting from their own 21-yard-line, the Rams found themselves facing 4th-and-1 just four plays into the drive, but a 7-yard rush by Kupp on an end-around converted it for a first down. They reached Bengals' territory three plays later. A 22-yard pass from Stafford to Kupp a few plays afterwards got them to the Bengals' 24-yard-line and they reached the red zone with another Stafford to Kupp pass, this for 8 yards. After the two-minute warning, three incomplete passes followed, but a holding penalty on Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson gave the Rams a first down. After the next play (a touchdown cancelled by offsetting penalties, Bengals' defensive back Eli Apple was flagged for pass interference in the end zone, bringing up first and goal from the 1. Two plays later, Stafford threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Kupp, giving the Rams a 23–20 lead with 1:25 left in Super Bowl 56.

The Bengals got the ball back at their own 25-yard-line and quickly gained 26 yards on a 17-yard pass to Chase and a 9-yard catch by Boyd, respectively. After an incomplete pass, Donald and fellow lineman Greg Gaines tackled Samaje Perine for no gain, bringing up 4th-and-1. The Bengals decided to pass the ball for a first down, but Donald wrapped Burrow up before he could make the throw. He still managed to attempt a pass to Perine as he was being taken down, but the ball fell short, causing a turnover on downs and enabling Los Angeles to run out the rest of the clock with a quarterback kneel. Kupp was named the Super Bowl MVP, with eight receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns, including three receptions and a touchdown (as well as one carry for seven yards) on the Rams final drive.

Super Bowl LVI Team Stats

Stats	Rams	Bengals
Source: NFL
First downs	18	15
First downs rushing	2	5
First downs passing	14	10
First downs penalty	2	0
Third down efficiency	6–15	3–14
Fourth down efficiency	1–1	1–3
Total net yards	313	305
Net yards rushing	43	79
Rushing attempts	23	20
Yards per rush	1.9	4.0
Yards passing	270	226
Passing–completions/attempts	26–41	23–34
Times sacked–total yards	2–13	7–43
Interceptions thrown	2	0
Punt returns–total yards	4–25	2–28
Kickoff returns–total yards	1–17	0–0
Interceptions–total return yards	0–0	2–1
Punts–average yardage	6–43.5	6–43.3
Fumbles–lost	0–0	0–0
Penalties–yards	2–10	4–31
Time of possession	30:47	29:13
Turnovers	2	0

SUPER BOWL LVI

SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles

February 13, 2022

Attendance: 70,048

Los Angeles Rams WR Cooper Kupp Named Super Bowl LVI Most Valuable Player