INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Super Bowl LVI came down to three men: Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp and Matt Stafford.

This win checked a lot of boxes for the L.A. Rams: this is their first Super Bowl win in L.A.; Kupp, Donald and Stafford enjoyed their first-ever Super Bowl wins, and Sean McVay is one of the (if not the) youngest coach(es) to win a Super Bowl. Additionally, the Rams continued the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ precedent of winning a Super Bowl in their own home stadium.

First Half

The L.A. Rams had an aggressive start to the big game, scoring the first touchdown with 6:26 left in the first quarter thanks to Stafford’s 17-yard deep right pass to Odell Beckham Jr.

The Bengals answered with McPherson’s 29-yard field goal with 31 seconds left, and the scoring remained 7-3 for the quarter.

In the second quarter, Stafford led the Rams to a second touchdown with an 11-yard pass to Cooper Kupp, but unfortunately the extra point failed due to the a ball drop before Matt Gay could get his foot on it.

The Bengals scored their first touchdown with Mixon’s six-yard touchdown pass to Higgins in the second quarter, heading into halftime with the Rams leading 13-10.

After an explosive Pepsi Halftime Show featuring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige, the game resumed and the Bengals brought the pressure, scoring twice in the third.

Second Half

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow opened the quarter with an explosive drive, throwing a 75-yard touchdown bomb to Higgins, flipping the lead to Cincinnati, 17-13. They got on the board again with McPherson’s 38-yard field goal just five minutes after the touchdown, giving them a 20-13 lead at the end of the third quarter.

The Rams came into the fourth quarter with a deficit and the triad of Stafford, Kupp and Donald buoyed the Rams to their historic come-from-behind win. Matt Gay’s 41-yard field goal put the Rams back on the board 20-16.

The final two minutes of Super Bowl LVI were by far the most electric, given the flurry of penalties, but the talk of the night will forever focus on Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald. Stafford had found Kupp with 1:44 left in the game for a four-yard touchdown pass, but it was nullified due to penalties on both sides: holding for the Rams and unnecessary roughness for the Bengals.

It didn’t matter. On the Rams’ next possession, Stafford made the turnaround play of the game, tossing to Kupp for one-yard for the touchdown, making the score 23-20 for the Rams.

On the Bengals’ next possession, Aaron Donald shone on defense, death-gripping the offense for yards lost. His play of the night was the final sack on Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow on the Bengals’ fourth down, putting the ball back in LA’s possession. Despite 39 seconds being left in the game, Stafford took a knee to end the game and secure the win for the Rams.

Odell Beckham Jr. got injured and couldn’t finish out the game, and he cried epic tears in the end as he watched his team win the Super Bowl.

_______________________________________

Mellissa Thomas is Editor for Florida National News. | mellissa.thomas@floridanationalnews.com

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (FNN SPORTS) – The L.A. Rams trained for an hour and 40 minutes at California Lutheran University’s William Rolland Stadium. As is the case during the course of the season, the Rams went through the non-padded regimen tabbed “Fast Friday,” which began with a walk-though and ended with fast reps on both practice fields.

“Here’s what I’d say: The players, the stillness, the calmness that they have, the confidence in their preparation, I feel really good,” McVay told the press Friday. “I’m excited to be able to go watch these guys compete to the best of their ability. As coaches, we’ll try to be poised, make good decisions and that’s all we’re going to do. And we’re going to enjoy the moment.

“We just kind of tightened up, went over any little last-minute reminders and a couple of little situational things,” McVay said. “Our guys did a good job with that.”

McVay shared that tackle Joe Noteboom and tight end Tyler Higbee would be placed on injured reserve with chest and knee injuries respectively. The move was expected for Higbee, who hasn’t practiced since being injured in the NFC title game. Noteboom practiced on a limited basis on Wednesday and Thursday, but was a non-participant on Friday.

McVay said both Darrell Henderson, Jr. and defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day will be activated from IR.

In the narrow window of time left before kickoff Sunday, McVay advised his players: “Do your last little preparation, but trust your preparation. Trust your process. Trust yourself and your teammates. Understand that we have a little time until kickoff. It’s great to be a little excited about it, but just be in the moment.”