Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp Lift Rams over Joe Burrow, Bengals to Win Super Bowl 56

The Los Angeles Rams are champions for the first time since the 1999 season.

Los Angeles won its second Lombardi Trophy in team history with a 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Sunday's Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium. Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp—who was the MVP—led the way for the champion Rams, who had lost their previous two Super Bowls since they won in the 1999 campaign.

Stafford's touchdown pass to Kupp in the final two minutes put the Rams ahead, and the Bengals' final drive stalled when Aaron Donald forced a Joe Burrow incompletion on fourth down.

A solid showing from Burrow was not enough for the Bengals, who have now lost all three Super Bowl appearances in franchise history.

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Notable Player Stats

• Matthew Stafford, QB, LAR: 26-of-40 passing for 283 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs
• Cooper Kupp, WR, LAR: 8 catches for 92 yards, 2 TDs
• Odell Beckham Jr., WR, LAR: 2 catches for 52 yards, 1 TD
• Joe Burrow, QB, CIN: 22-of-33 passing for 263 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
• Tee Higgins, WR, CIN: 4 catches for 100 yards, 2 TDs
• Ja'Marr Chase, WR, CIN: 5 catches for 89 yards

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Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp Become Rams Heroes Forever

Sunday was all about legacies for the Rams.

Stafford was searching for a Super Bowl title to add to his potential Hall of Fame resume. Donald could further make his case as one of the best defenders in league history with a title on the defensive side. Kupp was looking to cap off his incredible season with a win. And head coach Sean McVay might just walk away on top and head into the broadcasting booth with a championship.

Those legacies were well on track out of the gates. Stafford picked Cincinnati's secondary apart for much of the first half while finding Odell Beckham Jr. and Kupp for touchdowns. Even with a muffed snap on an extra point, the Rams were up 13-3 and seemingly in full control.

However, the Bengals cut the deficit to 13-10 by halftime, and Beckham was questionable (then out) with a knee injury. Throw in Stafford's interception to Jessie Bates III in the end zone, and momentum was on the Bengals' side going into the second half.

That momentum continued to slip away from the Rams when the first two plays from scrimmage in the second half were a Bengals touchdown and a Stafford interception to Chidobe Awuzie. A promising drive then resulted in a field goal for the NFC representative, and the offense fell apart from there without Beckham and the Bengals committing more attention to Kupp.

The rushing attack was also invisible for much of the game, which put even more pressure on Stafford without Beckham, Robert Woods and Tyler Higbee.

Talk about coming through in the face of that pressure.

Stafford marched the Rams 79 yards on 15 plays for a drive that Los Angeles fans will remember forever. He was helped by a questionable defensive holding call on third down inside the 10-yard line, which set up the winning touchdown pass to Kupp and cemented that legacy in Super Bowl lore.

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Bengals Fall Just Short of 1st Lombardi Trophy

Two wins in the 2019 season. Four wins in the 2020 season. Super Bowl in the 2021 season.

That's the Burrow effect.

Burrow has completely revamped the entire Bengals organization in two quick years, and Sunday was the opportunity to forever become a Cincinnati legend. Yet things certainly did not get off to an ideal start for the AFC representative after it turned the ball over on downs on its first possession to set up Los Angeles' opening touchdown.

The deficit expanded to 13-3, although the Bengals seized some momentum with an incredible one-handed catch by Ja'Marr Chase to set up an Evan McPherson field goal and then a trick-play touchdown pass from Joe Mixon to Tee Higgins. It felt like a win for Cincinnati to be down just three at the half after the abysmal start, especially since Burrow hadn't been playing particularly well.

It truly felt like a win when Burrow launched a 75-yard touchdown pass to Higgins on the first play from scrimmage in the second half to take the lead even if the receiver appeared to get away with offensive pass interference.

Still, the Bengals offensive line did its very best to blow that lead. It had no chance for extended stretches against the dominant trio of Von Miller, Donald and Leonard Floyd, and the entire city of Cincinnati was left holding its breath when Burrow grabbed his knee in pain and limped off the field in the fourth quarter.

Fortunately, Burrow remained in the game, but the rest of the contest was about missed chances. Tyler Boyd dropped a critical pass on third down when Cincinnati was attempting to run out the clock, the defense was unable to make a stop at the end of the game and the offense turned it over on downs in the final minute.

Combine that with the fact that Los Angeles' last touchdown came after a third-down penalty and the Bengals made a poor play call on their penultimate offensive play call by giving the ball to Samaje Perine, and Sunday was a day of heartbreak and what-could-have-been for Cincinnati.