Matt Mathias

Sports Editor

mcm5909@psu.edu

 After 12 years with the Detroit Lions, Matthew Stafford is finally an NFL champion. The storyline of the matchup at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles was staged around a battle between two former number one draft pick quarterbacks drafted 11 years apart with Stafford and his opponent Joe Burrow. The game went back and forth, eventually with Stafford leading the Rams on a 79-yard drive late in the fourth quarter resulting in a one-yard touchdown pass to recently dubbed offensive player of the year. The Bengals made an effort to come within striking range in the last minute of the game, however the star-studded defense of the Los Angeles Rams was up to the test. In back-to-back plays, the Bengals called on second string running, Samaje Perine, back to convert on third and one to go. Fans on Twitter were outraged that their season was placed on the back of getting one yard out of Perine when the offense had so many lethal weapons. However, the Bengals would not have been in this position in the first place if it were not for their penalty woes on defense during the Rams last possession. They were halted thanks to the efforts of three-time defensive player of the year defensive end Aaron Donald and linebacker Von Miller. The Rams were victorious by a final score of 23-20.

The Rams are only the third team in Super Bowl history to win a championship at their home stadium. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers managed the same feat only last season, making it the only time in history that teams have won the Super Bowl on their home turf in back-to-back years. Following the game, the players of LA were ecstatic and emotional as they celebrated their win.

“You got to be relentless,” Donald said about the win. “You want something bad enough you’ve got to go get it. You know it was right in front of us . . . all offseason you work, you train, you go to camp, you got a long season just for this one game. You know we’re gonna be the last team standing.” Donald and company certainly were relentless Sunday night as they finished the game with seven sacks on the Cincinnati quarterback. This tied a Super Bowl record for most sacks in the big game. Donald added, “I wanted it so bad. I dreamed of this.”

In the end Stafford was able to do what he has done throughout his whole career, which is win games in the clutch. Stafford has had 31 fourth quarter comebacks during his time in the NFL. Stafford and wide receiver Cooper Kupp have had great chemistry all season. They utilized this connection on their final drive of the game. “We spend a lot of time together, we talk ball a lot, he’s an unbelievable player and I’m lucky to play with him,” Stafford said during postgame. “I just appreciate him so much, and all the guys on our team, but that was fun on that last drive to kinda get back to feeding him. They were doing a great job the whole game doubling him in a bunch of instances. I got it in my head that hey, I’m gonna go to my guy here, I don’t really care what they play I’m just trying to get the ball to him and he made unbelievable plays.”

Kupp has had an astounding and record breaking season. Not only was he offensive player of the year in the NFL, but he also won the triple crown of receiving this past year. Winning the triple crown means that a player leads the league in catches, yards, and touchdowns. Kupp’s importance to the team would continue to prove important as he finished the championship game with two receiving touchdowns and earned the award of Super Bowl MVP. Following the win, Kupp credited his work ethic and his team for his success. “I’ve said it all year, whatever is asked of me whatever my job is gonna be, I just wanna execute to the best of my abilities,” said Kupp. “I trust as the game goes on I’ll have opportunities as well, and I just want to stay ready for those things stay locked in.” Kupp finished the game with eight catches for 92 total yards. Kupp would even be double-teamed during this contest following teammate Odell Beckham Jr.’s departure due to a knee injury. The coverage would not stop Kupp from making an impact as he always had. “I just comes down to this team and the way we prepared, the way we loved each other, trusted each other.” Kupp said.

Cincinnati was close to pulling off yet another dramatic victory in this game. They have had no shortage of drama through their postseason journey thus far. Burrow stated following the game that even though he was named the NFL’s comeback player of the year at the annual NFL awards show this past week, he was very unsatisfied with his performance. “We have to let it fuel us,” Burrow noted. “We are going to celebrate what we did this year.” Burrow was sacked a total of 19 times during the Bengals postseason run, which is an NFL record.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor was confident that this postseason run will motivate his team for years to come. “These playoff games weren’t easy,” Taylor said to the media following the game. “And even beyond that, we had some tough games, and our guys proved that they can do a lot of great in those situations and put us in these moments. And you just have to continue to build off that.”

Rams head coach Sean McVay is now the youngest head coach to win the Super Bowl being 36 years old. “We always talk about there’s something special about being a part of something bigger than yourself,” McVay commented. “These guys play for one another.”