by Terri Bey
In one of the worst Super Bowls ever, the much-hyped Los Angeles Rams just barely lived up to it, by squeaking past the upstart Cincinnati Bengals by a score of 23-20 in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. The Rams become the second team to win the Super Bowl where the host site is also their home stadium. Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the first to achieve this feat last year in Super Bowl LV when they destroyed the Kansas City Chiefs at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa when that stadium was the host of that Super Bowl. Cooper Kupp was named Super Bowl MVP. I don’t normally play this card, but one could argue that the referees could be co-MVPs. There were some good things about this four-hour bore-fest, so let me get to telling you the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
THE GOOD:
The Rock’s introduction to the game.
I have always loved the Rock, whether in WWE or in a couple of the films I have seen him in. He is an all-around great performer, and he didn’t disappoint tonight. That was a fun way to get the show rolling.
America the Beautiful/The National Anthem
Jhene’ Aiko sang a lovely version of “America the Beautiful.” However, Mickey Guyton sang an amazing version of the National Anthem/Star-Spangled Banner. In my opinion, it was one of the best versions I have heard in a while. The version below is what I’d rather hear sports events play on a video, though.
Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige & Kendrick Lamar Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show
This was a great half-time show. The performers were on point. I loved seeing Mary J. Blige kicking butt. Eminem played his famous hit, “Lose Yourself” with Dr. Dre playing the piano. That was awesome. Snoop Dogg was classic Snoop Dogg. I am not the biggest fan, but these people are talented and they were awesome. The whole presentation was great as well. This was one of the best half-time shows ever.
Commercials
Some of the Super Bowl ads were cute. I liked the one that advertised California tourism, I believed, which used, “Don’t Stop Me Now” by QUEEN. I liked the Michelob ad with Serena Williams and Peyton Manning. There was another ad with the Mannings that was cool. There was an ad that advertised a totally electric car and had an electronic dog that followed it, using the song, “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” sung by Bonnie Tyler and written by the late, legendary Jim Steinman. Of course, they had the Clydesdale ad for Budweiser.
THE BAD:
The Game Overall:
This had to have been one of the most boring games, ever. There were few exciting plays between both teams, which had high-powered offenses. The defenses kept the scoring lower than expected. I just didn’t think the game lived up to the hype.
Rams’ Lack of Run Game:
Rams QB Matt Stafford should be thanking his God, rubbing a rabbit foot, or doing whatever that is keeping him in good fortune that he is on a loaded team on both sides of the ball, especially with access to multiple receivers. That run game, which would keep that team balanced on offense was non-existent. It was a joke every time coach Sean McVay tried to run the ball.
Bengals’ Inability to stop Cooper Kupp
I said in my Super Bowl preview blog that it was crucial for the Bengals to stop Cooper Kupp. You don’t have to be Dr. Brian May, an actual rocket scientist, as well as a brilliant guitarist, to know that if Stafford doesn’t throw to anyone else, he is going to throw it to Cooper Kupp. Everyone in that stadium, at the sports bars, and at home knew Stafford was going to throw it to Kupp. Why was Kupp not covered, especially when Odell Beckham Jr. went out of the game?
THE UGLY
Injuries
I know injuries are part of the game. They are still unfortunate. Both starting quarterbacks suffered knee/lower leg injuries, but both stayed in the game. Based upon the play-calling, and I can’t say for sure, but I suspect that Joe Burrow’s knee injury was a little worse, but I might be wrong. I hope both quarterbacks are OK. Seeing Odell Beckham Jr go down on the same knee where he tore his ACL was scary. I hope he will be alright. As I am originally from the New Jersey/New York area, which is NY Giants country, I am happy that OBJ got a ring. I will say though, that maybe he “wasn’t the problem” in Cleveland? Just saying.
Bengals’ Defense on what would be the TD-winning drive by the Rams.
I would like to know, besides not double or triple-teaming Kupp, what kind of defense was THAT on the Rams’ TD-winning drive? Did they go into some sort of prevent defense? If so, all prevent defense does is prevent you from winning and that is what happened. Good lord. There were other factors in the game that didn’t help the Bengals, which leads me to…
Mistakes, Poor Play, and Dumb Penalties by the Bengals
During critical times in his career with the Giants, the New Orleans Saints, and others, defender Eli Apple has choked. Tonight was no different. Cooper Kupp had his way with Apple on several occasions. One of the Rams wide receiver’s early touchdowns was scored on Apple. Terrible play on Apple’s part. There was also the dropped pass on Tyler Boyd’s part, right before the Rams’ TD-winning drive. Boyd hadn’t secured the ball, and his eyes were turned upfield. Poor play by the offensive line as well. There were those dumb penalties, such as the “celebration penalty” when that one player who wasn’t playing joined in the celebration in the endzone.
THE ZEBRAS (REFS)
This game will be discussed ad nauseam this week. I am sure that one subject will be the ticky-tack call of defensive hold on the Bengals defense on a crucial 3rd down. It breathed new life into the Rams who got a new set of downs and thanks to a few other calls against the Bengals and one off-setting fouls called, the Rams eventually scored what would be the winning touchdown. The Rams defense finished off any chance the Bengals had of tying the game and sending it to overtime to seal the win for the Rams.
Do I think the refs were the reason the Rams won? No. I don’t. If you look at the scoreboard, the Rams won the game. However, during most of the Super Bowls that I have seen, the refs have virtually NEVER gotten involved in the last 2 minutes or so of the Super Bowl, at least not that I have ever remembered. Here we have 58 minutes of the Super Bowl with some penalties, and then with about 2 minutes to go, all of a sudden, the refs start with the penalties?
This particular call has to be one of the worst ticky-tack call since the ones in Super Bowl 40. No way was it defensive holding. I mean, to make such a ticky-tack call at that point in the game at that time? There are several Super Bowls that come to mind where the referee should have called it in crucial spots and didn’t. In Super Bowl 47, where one of the Baltimore Ravens defenders got away with an actual pass-interference on the final play. The referees didn’t call that and the Ravens beat the 49ers. In Super Bowl 45, on the final play, the Steelers should have gotten a defensive holding call or whatever, but the refs swallowed the whistle and the Packers won. In Super Bowl 42, Eli Manning was allowed to be surrounded by Patriots defenders forever and a day, when he should have been called “in the grasp” way before. The Tyree catch was made and we all know what happened next. In this game, Bengals QB Joe Burrows was surrounded by Rams defenders only about 2 seconds, way shorter than Eli Manning was, and was called “in the grasp.” I do suspect that this ticky-tack call was what is called a “makeup call” for the missed grabbed facemask call that SHOULD HAVE been called on the Bengals offense and had that touchdown annulled. In my view, two wrongs don’t make a right.
My overall point is the NFL has to do better as here we are again talking about the refs, instead of the game. The game might have been passable had the referees not gotten involved in the last couple of minutes in a very crucial spot. This was a battle for the Super Bowl. It wasn’t a time for the referees to make names for themselves. Some of those calls were a little ticky-tack at the end. This with all the media hype for the Rams, it doesn’t surprise me when I go on Social Media and see fans claiming a “fix.” The NFL has to get their refs to be more consistent. Fans won’t watch if they think this game is fixed and their team doesn’t have a fair chance to win.
That is my blog about the Super Bowl. Congratulations to the Rams and their fans.
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