The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 to clinch their first Super Bowl since 1999. It took a precise 79-yard drive capped by Cooper Kupp’s 1-yard touchdown reception with 1:25 remaining the victory on Sunday.
“Those guys just did a great job,” coach Sean McVay said. “They took over that game.”
They did so in their home, the $5 billion SoFi Stadium, making the Rams the second consecutive host to win the championship after Tampa Bay became the first a year ago.
“As far as building this stadium,” said Rams owner Stan Kroenke, the man who moved them back from St. Louis in 2016, “I think it turned out all right.”
The winning series, during which game MVP Kupp’s 4-yard touchdown reception from Matthew Stafford was negated by offsetting penalties, ended soon after with the NFL Offensive Player of the Year easily beating Eli Apple in the right corner of the end zone for the winning score.
Kupp had four receptions for 39 yards, and a 7-yard run on fourth-and-1 from the Rams 30 on the championship drive. Cincinnati was penalized the second-fewest times (72) for the fewest yards (620) in the regular season but flags on three consecutive plays hurt badly — including interference on Kupp in the end zone.