The Los Angeles Rams win the 56th Super Bowl over the Cincinnati Bengals

The Los Angeles Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals in an all-out brawl on Sunday, with the score coming to 23-20. The game was slow and steady in the first half with the Bengals getting the coin toss and taking a smart edge by deferring the possession of the ball to the Rams at kickoff. 

The Rams got the first touchdown with a throw from Matthew Stafford to Odell Beckham Jr. for six points. Stafford also connected with his partner in crime, reliable Cooper Kupp. Sadly, the extra point for the touchdown made by Kupp was botched by punter/holder Johnny Hekker. 

This created an opportunity for the Bengals to get some more points on the board. They did a combination of running and short slot passes to get to the 7-yard line. Then, the Bengals decided to spice it up a little with a trick play. They had Joe Burrow, quarterback of the Bengals, toss the ball backward to their running back, Joe Mixon, who then proceeded to throw the football to wide receiver Tee Higgins for the first touchdown by the Bengals.

The Rams got the ball back as they recovered it at the 25-yard line. Sadly, only four plays into the drive, they lost their second-best wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to a knee injury.

The Rams continued down the turf with one less receiver and ended up getting to the 43-yard line. Stafford tried to connect with his wide receiver, Van Jefferson, but instead, got picked off by Bengals safety Jessie Bates III. This ended the first half with the Rams with 13 points and the Bengals at 10.

On the first play of the second half, Burrow took a deep drop in the pocket and floated the ball to Higgins for his second touchdown of the game. This made the score 13-17, with the Bengals on top for the first time that night.

The Rams got the ball back, as per usual, and the first play they ran required Stafford to throw the ball to receiver Ben Skowronek. He didn’t catch the ball, and the cornerback for the Bengals was able to reel it in off the deflection. 

The Bengals tried to capitalize off this play by making a touchdown but fell short of the first down from the 20-yard line. They instead advanced their lead by making a field goal. This put the Bengals at a seven-point lead over the Rams. 

The Rams didn't have any success on their next drive down the field, so they decided to go for a 41-yard field goal and made it.

Nothing exciting happened for a good 20 minutes until the Rams offense decided to run down the field one last time. Stafford ran the ball, threw the ball, and did almost anything else he could to progress it toward the end zone, until the clock hit one minute and 25 seconds left. Stafford threw the ball to Kupp for the game-winning touchdown that sealed Cincinnati’s fate that Sunday night.

By Gabriel Sanders