The Cincinnati Bengals didn’t hoist the Lombardi Trophy at SoFi Stadium on Sunday night, as the Los Angeles Rams edged past them with a 23-20 victory to win Super Bowl LVI. It was a crushing loss for the stripes, who led from the first play of the third quarter until the final 1:25 of the game.
A critical pass interference call on Logan Wilson gave the Rams a fresh set of downs and they were able to score a touchdown. On the Bengals’ offensive drive, the offensive line couldn’t protect Joe Burrow against the Rams’ hungry pass rush and the seventh and final sack was the nail in the coffin for Cincinnati’s magical season.
It’s a devastating ending for a team that wasn’t supposed to be here. No one thought the Cincinnati Bengals would be repping the AFC in the Super Bowl when the season began but they got to that point. There’s no reason for the team to hang their heads but it’s okay for the fans to feel like they got punched in the gut.
With the season in the books, let’s take a look at the winners and losers from Super Bowl LVI. We’ll start with the winners from the game.