The Superstars descended on So-fi Stadium on Sunday to watch the Los Angeles Rams take on the Cincinnati Bengals in the Superbowl. Celebrities such as Jay-Z, Chris Tucker, LeBron James, Kanye West, Justin and Hailey Bieber, and many others were spotted in their seats as kickoff approached.
Pregame:
The Bengals won the coin toss and deferred the ball so that they could receive at the start of the second half.
1st Quarter
The first touchdown came on a 17-yard pass from quarterback Matthew Stafford to wide receiver Odell Beckam Jr., who moonwalked his way into the endzone to make it 7-0 with 6:22 remaining in the first quarter. Almost six minutes later, the Bengals’ young outstanding kicker Evan McPherson hit a 29-yard field goal with 28 seconds left in the first.
2nd Quarter
Rams receiver Cooper Kupp caught an 11-yard pass from Stafford with 12:51 left in the second quarter, but the Rams failed to get a good hold on the PAT and failed to convert, making the score 13-3. A few great defensive stops and the Bengals have possession of the ball. They brought out some trick plays, such as quarterback Joe Burrow tossing the ball to running back Joe Mixon as if he was going to run, but he then threw a 6 yard pass to receiver Tee Higgins for the touchdown. The Bengals converted the PAT and trailed the Rams by three points at halftime.
Halftime
The genre has a rough, circuitous path to Super Bowl headliner status. With this year’s Halftime show coming at an increasingly fraught time for the NFL in terms of race. A very notable moment was when Eminem took a knee during the show as a shout out to Colin Kaepernick.Getting back to the performance Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar all performed at Inglewood, California’s SoFi Stadium atop a set that resembled small homes in LA neighborhoods. Then there were the appearances of 50 Cent and Anderson Paak, and Lamar are all Southern California natives. In all, the halftime show was outstanding. For the people born in the 80’s and the 90’s they saw this like heaven had brought back their youth, people dancing and having fun . Folks were moving and grooving in their living rooms.
3rd Quarter
The Bengals got off to a fast start, scoring within the first two seconds of play. Burrow connected with Higgin for a 75-yard touchdown. Many people saw the play as a missed call by the ref because Higgin yanked the facemask of Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who tried but failed to justify his case. The Bengals went up 17-13. Matthew. Stafford attempted to pass to wide receiver Ben Skowronek 8 seconds into the drive, but it bounced off his hands and was intercepted by Cicinnati cornerback Chidobe Awuzie. The Bengals were gaining momentum, but it was short-lived as they settled for a 38-yard field goal from McPherson. Five minutes later, the Rams as they settle for a Matt Gay 41 yard field goal.
4th Quarter
There wasn’t much scoring, but there was a lot of emotion. The Bengals were unable to convert on third down, handing the ball back to the Rams. They began their drive on their own 21-yard line with 6:13 remaining in regulation. Stafford moved the ball slowly down the field, making a flashy 22-yard no-look pass to Kupp. Soon after, with less than two minutes left in the game, a pass intended for Kupp was intercepted but called back as a defensive holding penalty on Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson. Stafford then completed a pass to Kupp from the 4-yard line for the touchdown.
The crowd erupted, but then flags were seen strewn across the field. Both teams received penalties: Rob Havenstein, an offensive tackle, was called for offensive holding as well as unnecessary roughness on safety Vonn Bell after hitting Kupp .The play had to be called back and replayed.
On the next play, Stafford went right back to the Offensive Player of the Year, but it was incomplete. Cornerback Eli Apple’s pass interference was the only bright spot. Two plays later, he connected with Kupp on the fade route for a 1-yard touchdown.
The third time was the charm.This ultimately ended the game because the Bengals were unable to sustain a drive to tie or win the game. The final score was 23-20 in favor of the Los Angeles Rams
POST SUPER BOWL EVENTS
After fans’ emotions went wild the events that took place after were incredible.
According to @JourdanRodrigue’s twitter and the video she posted “Van Jefferson grabbed his daughter as she and his dad came into the field and sprinted through the locker room and is heading to the hospital right now .Samaria , his wif , is having their son and was rushed to the hospital mid-game as she went into labor”Less than 3 hours later his second child was born .
Next came Rams Safety Taylor Rapp’s to his now fiancee right after the Super Bowl Victory
Then came the questions about Cooper Kupp’s season . Did we have the BEST wide receiver season of all-time?This year, Kupp:
- Won the receiving triple crown ( To hold the receiving triple crown, a player needs to be first in the NFL in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.)
- Lead the league in catches (138), receiving yards (1,829) and receiving touchdowns (15) heading into the final week of the season.)
- Won Offensive Player of the Year
- Won Super Bowl MVP
The only other person to do that was the great Jerry Rice but he accomplished these accolades throughout his career .Cooper Kupp has done this in ONE SEASON .
Safety Eric Weddle officially re-retired after he came out of retirement on Jan. 12 of this year to help the Los Angeles Rams during the playoffs following injuries in the secondary. But now after 14 seasons he has hung up the cleats for good.
2021 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Andrew Whitworth also mentioned retirement in an interview after the SuperBowl victory on Good Morning America
On Sunday night, rumors about Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald’s retirement could be a possibility circulated as well. Donald, in my opinion, was overlooked for Super Bowl MVP despite having a pair of key sacks, a major fourth-down stop.
News broke later after the game , Odell Beckham Jr. re-tore his ACL and is now out for 16 months, clouding the superstar’s future with the Rams and in the sport overall. Beckham is a free agent.
