FROM TINSELTOWN TO TITLETOWN: RAMS WIN SUPER BOWL

When Rams owner Stan Kroenke moved his team from St. Louis to Los Angeles and committed to building the palatial SoFi Stadium six years ago, he said it would be a ‘dream’ to have the Rams play the big game in their home stadium. 

Well, dream realized. In fact, dream exceeded.

The Rams (16-5) not only played in the big game in front of their home fans, they came from behind for the second consecutive game and defeated the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20, to win Super Bowl LVI in front of 70,048 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford, who was acquired from the Detroit Lions last year for Jared Goff and a slew of draft picks, led the Rams on a 15-play drive before connecting with favorite target Cooper Kupp to give Los Angeles a three-point lead with 1:25 remaining.

“That last drive was a special drive, one I’ll never forget,” Stafford said. “It was so many great plays by so many great players. Just so happy to get it done.

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who suffered a knee injury early in the fourth quarter but remained in the game, seemed to have one more run left in him. 

He methodically led his team down the field in an attempt to tie the game, and, for a moment, it looked like he might actually pull it off. However, faced with fourth down and one at midfield, defensive tackle Aaron Donald wrapped up Burrow and forced the incompletion that sealed the game. 

“To be the last team standing, you have to give it everything you got,” Donald said after the game. “It’s about being relentless and showing up when you need to. Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games.”

Before the game, speculation started to circulate that Donald would retire if the Rams won. Asked about it after the game, the three-time defensive player didn’t deny the rumors.

“I’m just in the moment right now,” he said. “I’m going to enjoy this with my teammates, my family. And I’m just going to be in the moment and enjoy this today, for a couple of days.”

Kupp put a bow on his historic season, making eight catches for 92 yards, and scoring two touchdowns. For his efforts, he was named most valuable player of the game. 

“I just don’t feel deserving of this,” he said after the game. “God is just so good. I’m just so
thankful for the guys I get to be around.”

In addition to winning the MVP, Kupp was named NFL Offensive Player Of The Year on Thursday, and became only the fourth wideout since 1970 to win the receiving triple crown (receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns). He led the league with 145 receptions, 1,947 receiving yards, and 16 touchdowns.

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Kupp, who didn’t play in Super Bowl LIII (where the Rams lost to the New England Patriots) because of injury, revealed that he had an epiphany shortly after that game.

“I don’t know what it was, there was just this vision that God revealed to me that we were gonna come back, we were gonna be a part of a Super Bowl and we were gonna win it,” he said during the post game press conference. “And somehow, I was going to walk off the field as the MVP of the game.”

Burrow, who went 22-33 for 263 yards and a touchdown, took a positive approach when asked about the loss.

“We’re a young team,” he said. “ You like to think that we’ll be back in this situation multiple times over the course of the next few years. We’ll take this and let it fuel you for the rest of our careers.”

The Rams, who had been building toward this moment for the last five years, were nonetheless in awe and overcome by emotion.

“It’s about Stan taking chances,” Chief Operating Officer Kevin Demoff told the Los Angeles Times. “You build the world’s greatest stadium, hire the youngest head coach, and then the first year the stadium’s open to fans you get to lift the Lombardi Trophy in your own stadium as the world champions? Awesome.” 

 
In addition to trading for Stafford, Demoff and general manager Les Snead made trades for cornerback Jalen Ramsey, linebacker Von Miller, and signed wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., getting rid of so many draft picks in the process, that Snead’s kids gifted him a mug that read “F- – – them picks.”

While some wondered if a team full of stars could coalesce and reach their full potential, head coach Sean McVay, who is now the youngest coach ever to win the Super Bowl, never wavered in his belief that his players would come through when they needed to the most.

“I can’t say enough about the resilience of this team,” McVay said. “Guys stepping up when they had to … That’s why we’re world champs, because our best players stepped up in the most crucial and critical moments.”

With the win, Stafford, like childhood friend Clayton Kershaw, was finally able to get the proverbial monkey off his back. 

Often labeled as not a big game quarterback, Stafford languished in Detroit and was 0-3 in the playoffs before being traded to the Rams. 

All he did in this year’s postseason was lead his team on three consecutive game-winning drives, while throwing for 1,188 yards and nine touchdowns with a passer rating of 108.3.

“I get to go to work with people from all walks of life, come together and go for one goal,” he said. “And for 12 years that goal wasn’t reached, and it tore me up inside, but I knew I could keep playing and try to find a way. And the fact we reached that goal … is so special.”

The Rams became the second franchise to win the Super Bowl in their home stadium. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers accomplished the feat last year.

Los Angeles will now try to become the first team to repeat as champions since the Patriots in 2004-05. While there will be a lot of activity this offseason, Miller (who becomes a free agent next month), believes the team will continue to be hungry.

“Coming to the Super Bowl is one thing but winning it is addictive.”