Feb 13, 2022 4 min read

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – In a venue built for champions, the Los Angeles Rams carried off the crown jewel: a Super Bowl trophy.

It took a precise 79-yard drive capped by Cooper Kupp’s 1-yard touchdown reception with 1:25 remaining for a 23-20 victory Sunday over the Cincinnati Bengals to give the Rams their first NFL title since the 1999 season – and their first representing Los Angeles since 1951.

They did it in their home, the $5 billion SoFi Stadium, making the Rams the second consecutive host to win the championship after Tampa Bay became the first a year ago.

The winning series, during which Kupp’s 4-yard touchdown reception was negated by offsetting penalties, ended soon after with the NFL Offensive Player of the Year easily beating Eli Apple in the right corner of the end zone for the winning score.

Kupp, who was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, had four receptions for 39 yards on the championship drive, including the last three. He also had a key 7-yard run off right end on fourth-and-1 from the LA 30-yard line.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 7 of 11 for 57 yards on the 15-play, 79-yard series.

Even with that brilliant, decisive march to the Lombardi Trophy, it was LA’s “fearsome fivesome” that made the difference. Led by Aaron Donald and Vin Miller, they sacked Joe Burrow a Super Bowl record-tying seven times, shutting down the Cincinnati offense after a 22-second spurt to start the second half gave the Bengals the lead.

Fittingly, Burrow was under pressure on fourth-and-1 and threw incomplete, setting off a football fiesta this city has not seen since the LA Raiders won the 1983 championship.

Los Angeles’ victory was a remarkable story of perseverance through injury setbacks that would have crushed most teams – including the Rams, if not for one final scoring drive catalyzed by Kupp and Stafford.

The Rams played the fourth quarter with rookies Ben Skowronek and Brycen Hopkins logging significant playing time. That’s because Odell Beckham Jr. went down with a knee injury in the second quarter, leaving the Rams to finish their final game without four of their top six pass-catchers by yardage from the regular season.

In their place, the Rams sent out their two rookies along with tight end Kendall Blanton, a borderline third-stringer when the season began. Running back Darrell Henderson, who hadn’t played since Dec. 26 because of an injury, was used extensively as a pass-catching target partly because the Rams had no other bodies to do it.

Improbably, they made it work.

The Rams won the Super Bowl with nobody other than Kupp catching more than four passes. For an offense built on star power and variety of attack, this scenario probably wasn’t ideal for coach Sean McVay – but the Rams made it work.

The Rams’ lack of depth is an unfortunate side effect of loading the top of an NFL roster with big names and huge paychecks. When injuries hit the Rams this season, the depth players that they could afford were not up to the same standard.

The Rams lost Robert Woods, their steady veteran receiver, at midseason with a torn knee ligament. Right before that injury, disgruntled veteran DeSean Jackson asked to leave the team after just seven games.

Los Angeles then lost tight end Tyler Higbee to a knee injury in the NFC championship game, depriving Stafford of one of his most reliable targets. And then in the second quarter of the Super Bowl, Beckham fell to the turf holding his left knee without a defender near him.

The Rams’ passing problems were compounded by their utter inability to run the ball – and McVay’s insistence on continuing to try. Los Angeles repeatedly ran first-down plays into the immobile line for setbacks and minor gains, but McVay continued to run it with Henderson, Cam Akers and Sony Michel.

Los Angeles had 23 rushing attempts for 43 yards – and it still won the Super Bowl.