Los Angeles Rams vs Cincinnati Bengals Match Player Stats On Feb 13, 2022

Those major colleges that spend millions of dollars on recruiting didn't think Cooper Kupp was good enough to receive a scholarship. Now his name is cemented in football lore.

Kupp caught the game-winning touchdown from Matthew Stafford to give the Los Angeles Rams a 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI on Sunday at Inglewood, Calif.

Kupp was named Super Bowl MVP after racking up 92 yards and two touchdowns on eight catches, none bigger than the 1-yard scoring pass he caught in the front-right corner of the end zone with 1:25 remaining to cap a dramatic 15-play, 79-yard drive.

"This is what we prepare for," Kupp said, who caught a postseason-record 33 receptions over four games. "When it comes down to crunch time, we look at each other and you know you can count on each other and see the field the same way. It was an incredible drive."

The decisive score was Stafford's third touchdown throw of the contest. He completed 26 of 40 passes for 283 yards and two interceptions while leading the Rams to a title in his first season with the club after playing 12 campaigns for the Detroit Lions.

"I'm so proud of this team," Stafford said. "There are so many guys on our team who deserve this, so many great players who have given their heart and soul to this team.

"This game today is the story of our season. It's up-and-down, it's tough and we're a tough team."

Aaron Donald recorded two of Los Angeles' seven sacks and pressured Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow to force a desperate fourth-down incompletion with 39 seconds to play. The Rams ran out the clock to earn their second Super Bowl crown -- the other coming in St. Louis following the 1999 season.

Burrow was 22-of-33 passing for 263 yards and running back Joe Mixon rushed for 72 yards and threw a touchdown pass on a trick play for the Bengals. Tee Higgins caught four passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns.

"We have to work hard to get back to this point and finish on top like we wanted to this year," Burrow said. "We came up just short."

The second-year quarterback led Cincinnati on a stunning run to the title game, but the franchise is now 0-3 in Super Bowls, having lost to the San Francisco 49ers in appearances following the 1981 and 1988 seasons.

The Bengals won just six games over the previous two seasons.

"We think we have a really special group that's going to continue to build on this and fight to get back to games like this," Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor said. "They're hard to win. People spend their whole lives trying to get these moments and you've got to capitalize on them when you get these opportunities.

"But (this loss) doesn't take away from what this group did this year."

Von Miller also had two sacks for Los Angeles. Odell Beckham Jr. caught a touchdown pass for the Rams before exiting the game in the second quarter due to a left knee injury.

Cincinnati moved ahead for the first time at 17-13 on the first offensive play of the third quarter when Burrow and Higgins connected on a 75-yard touchdown pass. Higgins and Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey were mixed up, with Higgins appearing to twist Ramsey's facemask. Ramsey fell to the ground while Higgins made the grab and ran the remaining 35 yards for the score.

On the Rams' next play from scrimmage, Cincinnati's Chidobe Awuzie notched an interception of a Stafford pass that caromed off the arms of Ben Skowronek, who was in the game due to Beckham's injury. The Bengals took over at the Los Angeles 31-yard line and eventually grew the lead to seven with Evan McPherson's 38-yard field goal.

The Rams cut their deficit to 20-16 when Matt Gay booted a 41-yard field with 5:58 left in the quarter.

Stafford threw two of his touchdown passes in the first half as the Rams held a 13-10 lead at intermission.

Los Angeles struck first when Stafford connected on a 17-yard scoring pass to Beckham with 6:22 remaining in the first quarter.

Cincinnati got on the board with McPherson's 29-yard field goal with 28 seconds to go in the opening period.

The Rams increased their lead to 13-3 when Stafford tossed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Kupp in the right corner of the end zone with 12:51 left in the half. The score was set up by consecutive pass plays of 35 yards to Beckham and 25 to Darrell Henderson Jr.

The extra point failed when holder Johnny Hekker was unable to get the ball down cleanly.

The Bengals answered with a solid 12-play, 75-yard drive that took 7:04. It culminated when Mixon threw a pass for the first time in his five-year NFL career and hit Higgins for a 6-yard score with 5:47 remaining in the half.

--Field Level Media