Super Bowl LVI recap: Rams all-in strategy pays off, Matthew Stafford’s career turnaround

The Los Angeles Rams were led to victory in their home stadium during Sunday’s Super Bowl matchup. Photo collage by DANIEL PEARSON, Photo Editor

Not many football fans expected this year’s Super Bowl matchup to be between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals. It was a low scoring game that came down to the wire, but had a great finish. 

The Rams were down 20-16 on their final drive, and after wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. exited the game with an injury, the offense was struggling to continue putting up points. The Rams needed an answer from quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Cooper Kupp to get their connection going in the passing game.

In their final drive with six minutes and 13 seconds left in the game, Stafford found Kupp four times for 39 yards. Kupp also had a clutch 7-yard rush on fourth and one at the Rams 30-yard line to keep them on the field. And on second and goal at the 1-yard line, Stafford threw a touchdown to Kupp, putting the Rams up 23-20, leading to the eventual victory. 

Stafford finished the game with 283 passing yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, while Kupp finished with eight catches, 92 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Kupp ended up taking home the Super Bowl LVI MVP award.

For junior integrated educational studies major Tyler Lum, watching the game was a great experience, but there were times when viewing was nerve-racking — especially in the third quarter when the Bengals took the lead 17-13 on Joe Burrow’s 75-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tee Higgins.

“If (the game) was a blowout it would be less stressful,” Lum said. “Was it stressful? Yes; I was going crazy cause I wanted the Rams to win so badly. But overall, I really enjoyed it, and it was really fun.”

It only took one year for Stafford to completely change the narrative about his place in the league. He was drafted first overall by the Detroit Lions in 2009, and for 12 years he was stuck in one of America’s most dysfunctional NFL franchises. In Detroit, he had only four winning regular seasons and three playoff appearances that resulted in no wins.

Tanner Pierce, a freshman broadcast journalism and documentary major, said that Stafford’s move to Los Angeles was one of the best decisions that he made for his career, solidifying himself as one of the league’s best quarterbacks. Pierce also said the general public places a big emphasis on wins to define an NFL player's success, but Stafford has always been a great player, even in his losses.

“I think you could say that Detroit was holding him back a little bit in terms of adding to the resume in the wins column and success in the postseason, but in terms of how he is as a player, I would say he excelled in Detroit as well,” Pierce said.

Some other big name players that the Rams brought in this year were linebacker Von Miller and wide receiver Beckham Jr. They even brought safety Eric Weddle out of retirement to replace Taylor Rapp, who injured himself before the Wild Card game against the Arizona Cardinals. 

While the costs to acquire Stafford, Miller and Beckham required millions of dollars and draft picks, Pierce said that the Rams got the supporting cast that Stafford needed to thrive.

“The big thing about the Rams this year is they went out and built their team to win right now; it wasn’t about the future,” Pierce said. “I think that was a big part of it for Matt Stafford. He had all these weapons around him, both on the offensive side of things with Cooper Kupp and Odell, but also on the defense, they had Aaron Donald and Von Miller … It shows that when you have talent around you, when you’re someone as talented as Matt Stafford, it definitely helps with winning.”

But with a lot of talent on the roster comes high expectations to deliver and bring a championship home, which the Rams successfully accomplished this season. 

For the Bengals, however, they were essentially playing with house money. Two years ago they were 2-14, and coming into this season, their odds of winning the Super Bowl were 150-1. After they beat the Las Vegas Raiders, number one seed Tennessee Titans and the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, their journey to the big game became clear.

According to Lum, even after this season, two players that the Bengals can look to continue building their future upon are quarterback Burrow — nicknamed Joe Brrr — and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. Both players are very early on in their careers. 

Looking at the bigger picture, Lum said he hopes to see younger guys in the league continue growing in their NFL careers.

“I hope to see (Burrow), as a young quarterback. be able to make it back to the Super Bowl and win,” Lum said. “I hope to see (more) young guys make it big in the future. It will be super cool to see.”