Super Bowl Game Grades: LA Rams

Story posted February 14, 2022 in CommRadio, Sports by Logan Bourandas

The Los Angeles Rams concluded Sunday as Super Bowl Champions as they were able to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in their home stadium.

This is the second Super Bowl victory for the Rams and the teams first since 1999 when they called St. Louis home.

Here’s a look at how each position group performed in the win.

Offense: B+

The Rams offense was rolling early on in the game and it easily could’ve kept up that pace had star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. not been knocked out of the game.

Beckham had already accumulated 52 receiving yards and a touchdown before getting hurt.

Once he was out, the rest of the Rams pass catchers were able to step up with Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp leading the way with 92 receiving yards and two touchdowns which includes the game-winner late in the game.

The offense was one-dimensional however as the teams leading rusher was Cam Akers who only posted 21 rushing yards on 13 carries.

Luckily for the running game, the rest of the offense was able to perform well enough to secure the victory.

Defense: A

While the star-studded Rams defense wasn’t perfect, it was able to contain a potent Bengals offense just enough to take home the win.

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was sacked a total of seven times during the game with four coming from Aaron Donald and Von Miller.

The Rams were able to play their best defense when it mattered most as the Bengals didn’t score any points during the fourth quarter.

Burrow had the opportunity to take the lead on one final drive but the Rams defense held strong and forced a turnover on downs to win the game.

Special Teams: A

The special teams unit for the Rams only had one blunder during the entire game.

On an extra point attempt, holder Johnny Hekker lost control of the football for a second which created a broken play and what could’ve led to a two-point conversion for the Bengals.

Luckily this didn’t have much of an impact on the final score but it could have if the Bengals had gotten into field goal range during that final drive.

Coaching: A+

This may have been one of the best coaching jobs from coach Sean McVay throughout his career.

Even when the running game was falling flat, McVay found other ways to get his backs involved in the offense as both Darrell Henderson and Cam Akers finished with three receptions out of the backfield.

The final scoring drive for the Rams is where this high grade comes from, quarterback Matthew Stafford led one of the best drives of his career which lasted for just under five minutes to give his team the lead on the touchdown throw to Kupp.

McVay was able to force the Bengals away from their running game which had worked well with Joe Mixon posting 72 yards on just 15 carries.

This was the completion of a redemption arc by McVay after his team only scored three points in the Super Bowl back in 2019 and was now able to coach his team to victory just three years later.

Logan Bourandas is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email lxb5412@psu.edu.