Super Bowl LVI, 2022: Los Angeles Rams 23 Cincinnati 20

Super Bowl LVI was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams defeated the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals, 23–20. The game was played on February 13, 2022, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the home stadium of the Rams, marking the second consecutive and second overall Super Bowl with a team playing and winning in its home stadium.

The Rams' victory was their second, first as a Los Angeles-based team, and first since winning 1999's Super Bowl XXXIV when they were based in St. Louis. Finishing with a 12–5 record, the Rams reached their fifth appearance after acquiring veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, who had not won a playoff game in his previous 12 years with the Detroit Lions. The Bengals, who finished with a 10–7 record, were seeking their first Super Bowl title following several decades of losing seasons and playoff struggles. They won their first playoff game since 1990, ending the longest drought in the four major North American sports, en route to their third Super Bowl appearance and first since 1988's Super Bowl XXIII. Each team finished the regular season as their respective conference's 4-seed, making this the first Super Bowl without a top-3 seed since seeding was introduced in 1975.

The game had three lead changes and mostly kept within a one-possession margin. Los Angeles led 13–10 at halftime, but the Bengals scored 10 straight points on their first two drives in the third quarter. Trailing 20–16 in the fourth, the Rams scored a touchdown to retake the lead with under two minutes remaining and stopped Cincinnati's final drive on downs. Wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who converted a fourth down on the Rams' final drive and scored the game-winning touchdown, was named Super Bowl MVP.

NBC's broadcast of Super Bowl LVI was the second-most watched in the game's history, marking a shift from several years of declining ratings. Seen by an average of 112.3 million total viewers on both NBC and its streaming platforms, the game's ratings were up 8% from the previous Super Bowl.

Game summary
First half
The Bengals won the coin toss and deferred to the second half; the Rams received the ball at the kickoff. Cincinnati's Trey Hendrickson sacked Matthew Stafford, leading to a punt by Los Angeles. The Bengals drove towards midfield, but were stalled on fourth down, when Ernest Jones knocked down Joe Burrow's pass to Ja'Marr Chase. Los Angeles took over at their own 49-yard-line. A 3rd-and-4 was converted with a 20-yard completion from Stafford to Cooper Kupp and the Rams got into the red zone on the next play with a 4-yard Henderson rush. Two plays later, the game's first score came by way of a 17-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Odell Beckham Jr. Unable to respond immediately, the Bengals went three-and-out, and Kevin Huber's punt was downed at the Los Angeles 28-yard-line. The Rams were similarly unproductive on their next drive, as a delay of game penalty erased a five-yard gain on first down and a catch by Van Jefferson on third down was short of a first down. Hekker's punt was returned to the Cincinnati 30-yard-line, where the Bengals started their next series. On the drive's second play, a 46-yard pass from Burrow to Chase advanced the ball to the Los Angeles 11-yard-line, though three straight incomplete passes forced a 29-yard field goal attempt, which was converted by Evan McPherson, making the score 7–3 Rams. After a touchback, the Rams got the ball on their own 25-yard-line; they ran one play, an Akers rush for a loss of one yard, before the first quarter ended.

The Rams started the second quarter facing 2nd-and-11 on their own 24-yard-line. An unsuccessful deep pass from Stafford to Kupp was immediately followed by a 35-yard pass to Beckham and a 25-yard pass to Henderson. Now inside the red zone at the Cincinnati 16-yard-line, Henderson rushed for five yards before Stafford passed to Kupp for an 11-yard touchdown. The extra point was unsuccessful as Hekker mishandled the snap, then threw an interception to Germaine Pratt, keeping the Rams lead at 13–3. The ensuing kickoff was a touchback and the Bengals advanced the ball 75 yards in 14 plays, with Burrow completing 5/5 passes for 38 yards while Joe Mixon rushed 6 times for 26 yards. On the last play, Mixon took a pitch from Burrow and then passed to Tee Higgins with a halfback pass for a 6-yard-touchdown. Another touchback followed and the Rams began their drive with a pair of plays totaling 19 yards, which got them to their own 44-yard-line. After a knee injury to Beckham Jr., which sidelined him for the rest of the game, a false start penalty backed them up five yards. The drive ended on 3rd-and-14 at the Bengals' 43-yard-line, when Stafford's pass downfield was intercepted Jessie Bates in the end zone for a touchback. The Bengals got possession at their own 10-yard-line (backed up ten yards as the result of an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty). The short drive was unsuccessful and they punted with 42 seconds remaining. The Rams responded with a drive that was even shorter, as they went three-and-out in 26 seconds and punted back to Cincinnati; Burrow then took a knee to end the half.

Second half
Cincinnati had their first lead of the game on the first play of the second half, when Burrow threw a deep pass to Higgins on near the left sideline, who was tangled up with defensive back Jalen Ramsey. Ramsey fell down just before Higgins caught a pass, leaving him wide open. Higgins ran to the end zone scoring a 75-yard touchdown. Replays showed Higgins grabbing Ramsey's facemask before the catch, but no penalty flag was thrown and the touchdown stood, giving the Bengals a 17–13 lead. Things got worse for the Rams, as Stafford threw a pass that bounced off the hand of receiver Ben Skowronek and was intercepted at the Rams' 32-yard-line by Chidobe Awuzie. Cincinnati was able to capitalize with a 38-yard field goal made by McPherson, after being pushed back nine yards by a sack by Aaron Donald on the previous play. Now leading by seven points, the Bengals kicked off for a touchback. Shortly into the drive, the Rams faced a 3rd-and-8, which they converted for 15 yards with a pass from Stafford to Henderson. Overall, the drive covered 11 plays and 52 yards, with Stafford completing 4/5 passes for 44 yards before Matt Gay's 41-yard field goal made the score 20–16 with 6:02 left in the third quarter. Four consecutive three-and-outs followed, with the Bengals punting with 43 seconds remaining in the quarter and the Rams running a single play, a five-yard Akers rush to the Cincinnati 47-yard-line, before the third quarter came to an end.

The Rams punted three plays into the fourth quarter, giving the Bengals the ball at their own 16-yard-line. A 16-yard pass from Burrow to Boyd on second down went for a 16-yard gain, but from there the Cincinnati offense stalled and an unnecessary roughness penalty on third down forced a punt on 4th-and-29, which was returned to the Los Angeles 35-yard-line. The Rams punted the ball back after another three-and-out of their own, and Cincinnati took over after the punt went out of bounds at their 16-yard-line. A 12-yard rush by Mixon gained a first down on the drive's first play and a 3-yard pass from Burrow to Chris Evans then gained another first down on 3rd-and-2; however, Cincinnati was not able to gain another first down and punted three plays later on 4th-and-9. Receiving the ball on their own 21-yard-line, the Rams found themselves facing 4th-and-1 just four plays into the drive, but a 7-yard rush by Kupp on an end-around converted it for a first down. They reached Bengals' territory three plays later. A 22-yard pass from Stafford to Kupp a few plays afterwards got them to the Bengals' 24-yard-line and they reached the red zone with another Stafford to Kupp pass, this for 8 yards. After the two-minute warning, three incomplete passes followed, but a holding penalty on linebacker Logan Wilson gave the Rams a first down. After the next play (a touchdown cancelled by offsetting penalties against both teams), Bengals' defensive back Eli Apple was flagged for pass interference in the end zone, bringing up first and goal from the 1. Two plays later, Stafford threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Kupp, giving the Rams a 23–20 lead with 1:25 left on the clock. The Bengals got the ball back at their own 25-yard-line and quickly gained 26 yards on a 17-yard pass to Chase and a 9-yard catch by Boyd, respectively. After an incomplete pass, Donald and fellow lineman Greg Gaines tackled Samaje Perine for no gain, bringing up 4th-and-1. The Bengals decided to pass the ball for a first down, but Donald wrapped Burrow up before he could make the throw. Burrow still managed to attempt a desperation pass to Perine as he was being taken down, but the ball fell short, causing a turnover on downs and enabling Los Angeles to run out the rest of the clock with a quarterback kneel. Kupp was named the Super Bowl MVP, with eight receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns, including three receptions and a touchdown (as well as one carry for seven yards) on the Rams final drive.

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