It was loud. Like, ear-splittingly loud. If you were sitting inside SoFi Stadium on February 13, 2022, you weren't just watching a football game; you were basically standing inside a billion-dollar pressure cooker. Everyone kept asking: who won Super Bowl LVI? Well, the short answer is the Los Angeles Rams. They edged out the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in a game that felt like it was slipping through their fingers for about two-and-a-half hours.
But the "how" is way more interesting than the "who."
Think about the stakes. You had the Rams, a team that had literally traded away their entire future—draft picks, cap space, you name it—to win right then and there. They were playing in their own house. Then you had the Bengals, the ultimate "just happy to be here" story that suddenly became terrifyingly real. Joe Burrow was getting hit every other play, yet he kept moving the chains. Honestly, for a good chunk of the third quarter, it looked like Cincinnati was going to pull off one of the biggest upsets in modern NFL history.
The Moment the Momentum Shifted
The game started out looking like a Rams blowout. Matthew Stafford was dealing. Odell Beckham Jr. caught a 17-yard touchdown early on and looked like the best player on the field. But then, disaster. OBJ went down with a non-contact knee injury. The stadium went silent. Without him, the Rams' offense basically turned into "throw it to Cooper Kupp and pray."
Cincinnati smelled blood.
Right at the start of the second half, Joe Burrow launched a 75-yard bomb to Tee Higgins. Touchdown. Suddenly, the Bengals were up. Then Stafford threw a pick on the very next drive. You could feel the panic in the stands. It stayed that way for a long time. The Rams' "superteam" looked like it was about to go down in flames on its own turf.
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Who Won Super Bowl LVI and How Cooper Kupp Saved the Day
If you want to know who won Super Bowl LVI, you have to talk about the final drive. With about six minutes left, the Rams were trailing 20-16. They were stuck. They couldn't run the ball. The Bengals' defense knew exactly where the ball was going.
Stafford and Kupp decided it didn't matter.
They marched 79 yards. It wasn't pretty. There were penalties, a lot of them, mostly against Cincinnati’s defense in the red zone. On a crucial 4th-and-1, Sean McVay called a jet sweep for Kupp. He got the first down by a hair. Then, with 1:25 left on the clock, Stafford lobbed a back-shoulder fade to the corner of the end zone. Kupp grabbed it. 23-20.
Kupp ended the night with:
- 8 receptions
- 92 yards
- 2 touchdowns
- The Pete Rozelle Trophy (Super Bowl MVP)
He basically completed the greatest individual season for a wide receiver ever. He won the Triple Crown in the regular season, Offensive Player of the Year, and then the Super Bowl MVP. It’s the kind of stuff you'd think was too cheesy for a movie script.
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Aaron Donald’s "Ring Me" Moment
While Kupp won the MVP, Aaron Donald won the game. Cincinnati had one last chance to tie it or win it. They got to midfield. 4th-and-1. Everyone knew Joe Mixon was the threat, but Burrow tried to pass. Donald, who had been hounded all night, broke through the line like a freight train.
He grabbed Burrow, spun him around, and forced a desperate, incomplete heave. Donald didn't even celebrate at first; he just pointed at his ring finger. He’d been the best defensive player in the world for a decade, and that was the moment he finally cleared his legacy.
The Halftime Show That Broke the Internet
We can't talk about Super Bowl LVI without mentioning the music. It was a massive love letter to West Coast hip-hop. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar. Plus a surprise appearance by 50 Cent hanging upside down.
It was the first time hip-hop was the primary focus of a Super Bowl halftime, and it drew 103.4 million viewers just for that segment. It felt culturally massive, especially with the game being played in Inglewood.
Why This Game Changed the NFL
Before the Rams won, most teams were scared to trade first-round picks. They wanted to "build through the draft." Rams GM Les Snead wore a shirt to the victory parade that basically said "F*** them picks." He proved that you can buy a championship if you buy the right pieces.
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- Matthew Stafford: Traded for Jared Goff and a mountain of picks. He proved he wasn't the problem in Detroit.
- Von Miller: Brought in mid-season from Denver. He had two sacks in the big game.
- Odell Beckham Jr.: Signed off the street after being cut by Cleveland. He scored the game’s first touchdown.
This "all-in" strategy has since been copied by half the league, though few have pulled it off as well as LA did that year.
Fun Facts You Might Have Forgotten
- The Attendance: 70,048 people squeezed into SoFi.
- The Weather: It was 82 degrees at kickoff—the hottest Super Bowl on record.
- The Commercials: This was the "Crypto Bowl." Remember all those FTX and Coinbase ads? Yeah, those didn't aged well.
- The Underdogs: The Bengals were 4-point underdogs and nearly covered.
What You Should Do Next
If you're a football nerd or just want to relive the drama, go back and watch the "Mic'd Up" footage of that final Rams drive. Seeing the communication between Stafford and Kupp under that kind of pressure is a masterclass in professional sports.
Also, keep an eye on how the Bengals have rebuilt since then. They didn't win, but that game proved Joe Burrow was the real deal. Most teams that lose a Super Bowl have a "hangover" season, but Cincinnati stayed relevant, proving that Super Bowl LVI wasn't a fluke for them—it was a beginning.
For the Rams, it was the peak. They haven't quite reached those heights since, but if you ask any fan in Los Angeles, that one trophy was worth every single draft pick they gave away.
Practical Takeaways:
- The "All-In" Model Works: But only if you hit on your stars.
- Elite Defense Wins Trophies: Aaron Donald proved a single defensive snap can be worth more than a whole game of offense.
- Wide Receivers Can Be MVPs: In a quarterback-driven league, Cooper Kupp showed that a dominant wideout is a legitimate game-changer.