Super Bowl 2022: Rams win against Bengals and celebrate mega party in LA

NFL Finals in Los Angeles
Rams win Super Bowl against Bengals and have mega party in LA

When the biggest possible party in Los Angeles was perfected and the confetti cannons banged after the Super Bowl victory, the stars of the Los Angeles Rams cried with joy. Less than a minute after his game-winning defense, Aaron Donald was just as emotional as star receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who had tears streaming down his face after the 23:20 win against the Cincinnati Bengals. “I wanted this so much, I dreamed about it,” Rams defender Donald gushed in the first TV interview. “I promised my daughter that when she was sad: that she could play in the confetti.”

Rams pass receiver Cooper Kupp was voted the most valuable player of the game. His second touchdown 85 seconds before the end, before Donald attacked Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow a little later, a duel that had almost been thought lost finally ended up on the side of the Rams. “I have no words. I’m so grateful for everyone in my life,” said Kupp. By the time he was caught, the Rams were trailing 16-20.

The stadium, which is filled with celebrities from all walks of life and is estimated to be the most expensive stadium in the world at five billion dollars, trembled after a few moments of unusual shock as a large part of the 70,048 fans cheered. Even the halftime show with Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar and surprise guest 50 Cent also wowed viewers.

“It’s a team win”

“I’m so proud of this team. There are so many great players on this team,” said quarterback Matthew Stafford, who had a total of three touchdown passes and whose two intercepts didn’t matter at the end. “It’s a team win. The defense played great.” It was his first Super Bowl win in 13 years in the NFL and the second for the Rams.

At the first success 22 years ago, the team was still at home in St. Louis. After returning to Los Angeles three years ago, there was a bitter 3:13 defeat against the New England Patriots – now the Rams are again the best football team in the world. Sean McVay, 36, is also the youngest coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl. Before the Super Bowl, the Rams had won two championships, in 1945 and 1951.

The Angelenos in the stadium and at the parties throughout the city had to tremble for a long time, although a lot initially went in the interests of their team. The Rams scored first. Stafford’s shot at Beckham Jr. caused loud cheers, before the start of the game the Bengals fans were still acoustically superior. For the Star Pass recipient, who was only committed during the season, it was the seventh touchdown for his team – and should remain the last this season. In the first half he injured his knee without making contact and was unable to continue playing.

A touchdown by Kupp seemed to put the Rams on the road to victory, but a field goal and a clever touchdown by the Bengals, in which Joe Mixon, not quarterback Burrow, threw the ball into the end zone, ensured the half-time score was only 13:10.

Because the Bengals took the lead immediately after halftime through Tee Higgins’ second touchdown and then intercepted a pass from Stafford a second time, the Rams came under a lot of pressure within 22 seconds.

The Rams rightly complained, but in vain about a foul by Higgins. The only 22-year-old kicker Evan McPherson then hit his second field goal for the Bengals. It was his 14th in the playoffs this season, a record only Adam Vinatieri had before. The Rams, for their part, scored a field goal – and were then four points down with 85 seconds to go before Kupp made what was arguably the most important catch of his life.

The Bengals, on the other hand, have to wait for their first win in a Super Bowl and also lost on the third attempt. Quarterback Burrow’s team surprisingly qualified for the final. Just two years ago, the Ohio State team was the worst in the National Football League. Despite losing to the Rams, the team now has a bright future ahead of them

Maximilian Haupt/DPA