By David Goldman, Staff Writer
There is already no bigger stage than the Super Bowl. Now make the game in Los Angeles and put it inside brand new SoFi Stadium, and you have one of the most electric atmospheres in sports history. The stakes could not have been higher for the 14 teams who had the privilege of making the 2021–2022 NFL playoffs, all fighting to make their Lombardi Trophy dreams come true. While we were left with only two by mid-February, all the teams in the postseason certainly gave fans a show.
We’ll start with one of the least surprising teams to make the playoffs: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Led by 44-year-old quarterback Tom Brady, and mastermind head coach Bruce Arians, the defending world champions licked their chops at an easy first round playoff matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles. Philly owned a 9-8 record in the regular season and scratched and clawed to clinch a Wild Card spot. Unfortunately for them, though, their playoff presence was short-lived, as the Bucs eliminated them by a final score of 31-15.
A rare occasion took place in the divisional round for Tampa Bay with Tom Brady losing a playoff game. The team was stunned by the Los Angeles Rams, and shortly after his team’s defeat, Brady announced his retirement from the league where he was a seven-time Super Bowl champion, five-time Super Bowl MVP, three-time NFL MVP, and recipient of 15 Pro Bowl selections. The game will certainly miss Brady’s presence after 22 seasons of him on the field, but opposing teams may not.
Over in the AFC, another familiar face marched their way into the playoffs, with quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs clinching a postseason berth for the seventh straight season. There was some concern for the Chiefs during the season when it appeared that Mahomes was not playing his best football, but, like all good players do, the former Super Bowl MVP turned it around. Kansas City won the AFC West and punched their ticket to face the Pittsburg Steelers in round one. The Chiefs won the game in blowout-fashion by doubling their opponents’ score, and they also went on in the next round to beat the surging Buffalo Bills in a nail-biting overtime contest. However, Joe Burrow and the red-hot Cincinnati Bengals proved to be too much for KC, and the Chiefs were eliminated in the AFC championship in another OT game.
Speaking of the Bengals, Cincinnati had itself a textbook turnaround season. After a 4-11 last place finish in the 2020–2021 season and losing their star rookie quarterback to season-ending ACL surgery, the Bengals came out with nothing to lose and played like it too. With Burrow back and better than ever, the team looked to be unstoppable at certain points. The lethal connection between Burrow and former LSU teammate wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase devastated teams throughout the regular season. Even behind a below average offensive line, Burrow still managed to throw 34 touchdowns, Chase hauling in 13 of them. Adding an explosive Joe Mixon to power the run game, the Bengals reached the postseason for the first time since 2015. They continued to defy the odds when they knocked off the first-seeded Tennessee Titans and then found a way to scrape out a win against the Chiefs to reach their first Super Bowl in over thirty years.
Over in Green Bay, Wis., Aaron Rodgers and the Packers looked to stray from their “just shy of the Super Bowl” culture in what seemed to be an all or nothing season for the squad. With Aaron Rodgers’ future on the fence, and their top wide receiver, Davante Adams, set to become a free agent after the season, this Packers team would only be satisfied with a world championship title. Unfortunately for them, they met a familiar fate, as they were eliminated by the San Francisco 49ers in a snowy divisional round game on a game-winning field goal by Robbie Gould. No one can predict what will happen next season for Green Bay, but it feels like the end of an era.
The win over the Packers set the Niners up to face off against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC championship. Matthew Stafford and the Rams would not let San Francisco go any further, though. Stafford put together three straight fourth-quarter scoring drives to come back from a ten-point deficit. Kicker Matt Gay nailed a 30-yard field goal with under two minutes left to break the tie game and the seal the win for LA.
Super Bowl 56 now had its participants. It would be the Los Angeles Rams against the Cincinnati Bengals in a star-studded final game. The matchup took place on Sunday, Feb. 13 and did not disappoint in any aspect.
The game began with a chilling speech from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and from there, the game was underway. Newly acquired wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. scored the first touchdown of the game for LA. This would be one of two catches on the night for Beckham before he went down with a knee injury that sidelined him for the rest of the game. The Bengals got on the board too at the end of the first quarter when Evan McPherson knocked down a 29-yard field goal.
Los Angeles did not waste any time answering back, as they scored on their first drive of the second quarter off an 11-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to star wide receiver Cooper Kupp. After a botched extra point attempt, the score stood at 13-3 in favor of the Rams. Cincinnati was not interested in wasting the game clock either, scoring on their first drive of the second quarter as well. Burrow led the offense down the field, and the team then ran a trick play to get into the end zone. Mixon got the ball off a pitch and then threw it up to Tee Higgins for the Bengals touchdown.
The score was 13-10 heading into halftime, but excitement remained on the field with the Pepsi Halftime Show. This year, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, and Eminem headlined the annual performance and gave fans a medley of their greatest hits.
The Bengals came out of the locker room hot, and on the very first play of the third quarter, Burrow launched a 75-yard bomb to Tee Higgins for a touchdown to give Cincinnati its first lead of the game. After an interception by Bengals cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, McPherson kicked another field goal straight through the uprights to put three more points on the board for Burrow and company. The Rams went on to kick a field goal of their own and were down four with just over six minutes remaining in the game.
Stafford was no stranger to pressure, though. With 38 game-winning drives and 31 fourth quarter comebacks in his 12 years with the Lions, the veteran quarterback knew he had one more in him. The Rams moved down the field in a hurry, and after a controversial third down holding call on Cincinnati linebacker Logan Wilson and pass interference call on cornerback Eli Apple, LA was at the one-yard line. On second and goal, Stafford found none other than Kupp in the end zone to give his team a three-point lead.
Burrow and head coach Zac Taylor seemed as confident as ever despite the deficit they faced and the minimal time remaining. The Bengals had 1:25 left on the clock to score a touchdown or at least get into field goal range to tie the game up. Rams super star defensive end Aaron Donald deflated this confidence very quickly, as he sacked Burrow on a fourth and one to force a turnover on downs and give LA its second Super Bowl win in franchise history. Stafford finally received a ring in his thirteenth season as an NFL quarterback and Beckham, Donald, and Kupp can now all put “Super Bowl champion” on their resumes. Kupp was named Super Bowl MVP after he secured eight receptions and two touchdowns for 92 yards.
One of the wildest postseasons ever ended in a feel-good story for the Los Angeles Rams. It is going to be hard to top this season, but the NFL never seems to disappoint. Next stop: the offseason.
