Another Super Bowl has come and gone. Although every big game is exciting in its own way, the 2022 Super Bowl proved to be one of the best in more recent years. According to AS USA, an estimated 117 million people watched the game, so there’s a good chance that many of you readers did too. But are you aware of all of the history that went into the match?
This was only the Bengals’ third Super Bowl appearance. They lost twice to the San Francisco 49ers in 1982 and 1989. On the other hand, the Rams had attended four games prior to Sunday’s, with a win under their belt in 2000 against the Titans. With the Veteran team hosting, the odds were clearly in the Rams’ favor, yet so many people seemed to root for the Bengals. Why?
A lot of the hype surrounded the second-year quarterback Joe Burrow. Having won a National Championship and a Heisman Trophy, had Burrow won the Super Bowl, he would be the only quarterback in history to have all three distinctions. But going against a 34-year-old Matthew Stafford, who’s been playing in the NFL since 2009, would be no easy feat.
And the game proved that. Burrow was sacked a record-tying seven times during the Super Bowl, a problem that was consistent with him throughout the season. According to Bleacher Report, after the game, Burrow in total was sacked 70 times throughout the season, the third most in NFL history.
Yet, while mistakes were made, Burrow held his own for the majority of the game. The Rams didn’t get their winning score of 23-20 until there was 1:25 remaining.
Zac Taylor, Bengals Coach, understands the loss is reflected on the whole team, not just Burrow.
“He’s a fighter,” Taylor said to ESPN. “He’s one of the toughest guys I’ve ever met. So much respect for Joe. He’s gotten us to this moment. It’s just unfortunate that we couldn’t finish it off as a team.”
As for the Rams, they were able to make do without Odell Beckham Jr. after he left with a knee injury minutes before the second quarter ended. After tearing his ACL in 2020 with the Browns, this type of injury during the Super Bowl was devastating.
Beckham told CBS Sports, “This is everything I’ve ever dreamed of, you know. And there was a moment I was in the back room and they told me I was done, I couldn’t play. And I had to come back out there and be a part of this because it’s so much bigger than myself. And these boys pulled through and made it happen.”
Luckily, teammate Cooper Kupp was there to make up for the loss, who was named the team’s Most Valuable Player 40 minutes after the game. Kupp said he had a vision back in 2019 that the Rams would come back to win a Super Bowl and he would be named MVP in that match.
So, those are the 2022 Super Bowl highlights, and as the NFL reminded us last night, there are only 202 days until Sept. 8, when football is back again.
The 2023 Super Bowl will be hosted in Arizona, and according to Pro Football Network, the Chiefs and the Bills are early betting favorites for winning it. I guess we won’t know for sure until Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023.
