The Los Angeles Rams won Super Bowl 56 after a rollercoaster game with the Cincinnati Bengals. Cooper Kupp scored the winning touchdown before Aaron Donald made the decisive play in a 23-20 game at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for three touchdowns as he out duelled Joe Burrow in a see-saw game that went back and forth before LA, on their home field, emerged victorious in the fourth quarter. It is a second Super Bowl win for the Rams, following their first - as the St Louis Rams - back in 1999, as coach Sean McVay makes amends for defeat in the big game three years ago.
Odell Beckham Jr grabbed the opening score in the first quarter before Kupp hauled in his first of the night as the Rams jumped out to an early lead. But the Bengals, who have gone from the foot of the AFC North a year ago all the way to the showpiece game, came roaring back and a pair of Tee Higgins touchdowns either side of half-time saw them come back to lead heading into the fourth.
Crucially though Stafford still had time and on the Rams’ final possession drove all the way down before finding Kupp in the end zone to recapture the advantage. And with time ticking down Donald sacked Burrow on fourth down on the following drive to end the game and spark jubilant scenes in LA.
Super Bowl 2022: Five superstars headline half-time show
Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J Blige, and Kendrick Lamar will perform together at the 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show.
“The opportunity to perform at the Super Bowl Halftime show, and to do it in my own backyard, will be one of the biggest thrills of my career,” Dr Dre, a native of Southern California along with Snoop Dogg and Lamar, said in a statement following the announcement in October last year.
The seven-time Grammy winner promised that the performance will be an “unforgettable cultural moment”.
All five artists together have a combined 44 Grammy Awards. Eminem leads with 15 trophies.
Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Blige, and Lamar join a list of celebrated musicians who have played during Super Bowl halftime shows, including Beyoncé, Madonna, Coldplay, Katy Perry, U2, Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and Shakira.
Last year, The Weeknd delivered an acclaimed set at at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
(AFP via Getty Images)
Ben Burrows13 February 2022 21:53
Super Bowl 2022: NBC broadcasts game thanks to Winter Olympics
This marks the 20th Super Bowl broadcast for NBC, which is second among all networks. CBS leads with 21 followed by NBC, Fox (9) and ABC (7).
Of the seven previous Super Bowls held in Los Angeles, NBC has aired four, including the last one in 1993 when Dallas beat Buffalo. CBS and NBC both aired the first Super Bowl, which was at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
CBS originally had the game this year under the league’s rotation between CBS, NBC and FOX, but NBC and CBS agreed in 2019 to trade spots.
CBS carried last year’s Super Bowl from Tampa instead of NBC. CBS didn’t want to compete against the Olympics while NBC could market two major events to advertisers.
(Getty Images)
Ben Burrows13 February 2022 21:42
Super Bowl 2022: Half-time ad preview
Super Bowl advertisers this year want Americans to forget about pandemic woes and focus on the future: of electric vehicles, mind reading Alexas, robots and cryptocurrency - and also to harken back to the nostalgic past of ‘90s movies like “Austin Powers” and “The Cable Guy.”
The Los Angeles Rams are taking on the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl 56 on Sunday at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. But for many, the big show of the night will be the commercials.
Advertisers are hoping to deliver a dose of escapism with light humor and star-studded entertainment amid the pandemic, high inflation and tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
“Marketers are recognizing Americans have had a very heavy, difficult two-year period and are responding by bringing some good old-fashioned entertainment for Super Bowl Sunday,” said Kimberly Whitler, marketing professor at the University of Virginia.
NBC sold out of its ad space briskly and said an undisclosed number of 30-second spots went for $7 million, a jump from the $6.5 million that last year’s ads went for.
Ben Burrows13 February 2022 21:30
Super Bowl 2022: Rams look to make amends
It is certainly shaping up to be a more exciting Super Bowl than the Rams’ last trip to this stage, when Tom Brady’s New England Patriots stifled them in a chastening 13-3 loss three years ago.
McVay was only 33 when he led them into that Super Bowl and, having overcome Arizona Cardinals, Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers in this season’s playoffs, is quietly confident of a better outcome on Sunday.
“I think in a lot of instances it’s trusting your process, trusting the preparation and just being able to stay nice and still,” the Rams head coach said.
“Guys are excited and we want that, but we want to make sure we expend our energy the right way, use every minute that we have to allow us to play with that quieted mind.
“That’s what these guys have done and there’s tremendous confidence because of the way that our leaders and our players have really attacked the last couple of weeks. I’m excited to watch them go compete on Sunday.”
(Getty Images)
Ben Burrows13 February 2022 21:22
Super Bowl 2022: LA stars set to shine
Burrow produced a stunning season and teamed up to devastating effect with former LSU teammate Ja’Marr Chase – the offensive rookie of the year – while Taylor can count on a number of other dangerous offensive options.
But providing effective protection for their quarterback will be key if the Bengals are to spring another surprise, having beaten the Las Vegas Raiders, Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs in the post-season.
That is easier said than done against the Rams, who have great defensive options and mouth-watering offensive pieces.
The Rams boast wide receivers Kupp, the offensive player of the year, and Odell Beckham Jr, as well as running back Cam Akers who defied the odds to return from tearing his Achilles tendon in July.
(Getty Images)
Ben Burrows13 February 2022 21:15
Super Bowl 2022: Joe Burrow the star for fairytale Bengals
From NFL laughing stock to wildcard wonderkids in a matter of years, Cincinnati Bengals exciting quarterback Joe Burrow has led the side on a remarkable run to the Super Bowl.
The number one pick in the 2020 NFL Draft suffered a torn ACL that November but bounced back to lead the Bengals to the Super Bowl for the first time in 33 years.
Burrow has been crowned comeback player of the year and head coach Zac Taylor also deserves credit after leading a side that had not even won a playoff game since 1990 to the brink of glory.
“They look fresh and fast, and that’s what you can hope for in mid-February,” Taylor said.
“This time off over the last two weeks has helped them and I feel really god about where we’re at for Sunday.”
(AP)
Ben Burrows13 February 2022 21:08
Super Bowl 2022: Bengals the home team in Rams’ home stadium
The Cincinnati Bengals are the home team Sunday in the Super Bowl - technically. The home-field advantage belongs all to the Los Angeles Rams.
The NFC champions (15-5) will dress and work out of their usual locker room after spending the night before the big game in their usual hotel.
The Rams’ logo is plastered all around and inside SoFi Stadium even with the banners making it clear this is the Super Bowl.
Yes, the Bengals (13-7) are represented inside the stadium with their name and “Who Dey!” mantra opposite the Rams.
This is the second straight Super Bowl where the home team has gotten to play on its own field after Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won a championship a year ago in Raymond James Stadium. Before that, the NFL went 54 years without a team playing a Super Bowl in its home stadium.
(AP)
Ben Burrows13 February 2022 21:02
Super Bowl 2022
It’s here, Super Bowl 56 to cap off the 2021 NFL season after a thrilling run of games in the play-offs: the Los Angeles Rams face the Cincinnati Bengals at their own SoFi Stadium.
It’s Zac Taylor facing his former boss Sean McVay, while Matthew Stafford in his first year in LA has arrived at the big dance after a tortuous experience with the Detroit Lions.
The former No 1 overall pick faces Joe Burrow, another quarterback who was also selected at 1.01 - only the second time that has ever happened in a Super Bowl after Peyton Manning against Cam Newton at Super Bowl 50.
The Rams beat Tom Brady and the Buccaneers along the way, ultimately pushing the greatest quarterback of all time to retire a year removed from the crushing Tampa Bay win over the Kansas City Chiefs in last year’s Super Bow.
While the Bengals have enjoyed a fairytale run from just five victories last season, pairing Burrow with superstar wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase in an explosive offense.
The Bengals squeezed past the Raiders and Titans before a thrilling overtime win over the Chiefs to get here, where they are a four-point underdog with the bookmakers.
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