[Other Sport] Super Bowl LVI - LA Rams v Cincinnati Bengals **Official Match Thread**

[Driver8]

Got this on the TV as currently in the US. I’ve been watching about an hour and seen about 10 mins of actual play and 50 mins of adverts.

 

[bhafc99]

Has this game been any good?

Got up at 6am here (2am UK time), and all I’ve seen in the past 30 minutes is punt punt punt punt punt….

 

[seagullwedgee]

Yep, just a complete bunch of punts.

And adverts.

WOFT.

 

[hart's shirt]

Has this game been any good?

Got up at 6am here (2am UK time), and all I’ve seen in the past 30 minutes is punt punt punt punt punt….

I thought you might watch a bit!

The game's certainly had its moments - both teams scoring some good passing TDs.

Cincy's shut down the Rams running game. Odell a big loss for the Rams. Burrow's still in one piece...just.

Down by 4, that Rams missed extra point might make all the difference.

 

[hart's shirt]

Cometh the hour, cometh Cooper Kupp MVP.

A lot closer than I thought - credit to Cincy - but the Rams all-in gamble comes in.

It's not a Cinderella ending, but it'll be good enough for Hollywood tonight.

 

[zeetha]

Either team would've been worthy winners tonight. Think Bengals ran out of steam a bit - other than the start of 2nd half their offense faltered and Donald (who should be MVP though it will probably go to Stafford or Kupp) came to the fore. Second half was almost like the NFL of old - more grind than flashy plays. Congrats to the Rams!

 

[maresfield seagull]

Massive improvement s needed on Cincys OL to protect Joe Burrow
RHS in particular
Apple got torched by Kupp on the vital plays
As for the ineligible player giving away a penalty by going on the pitch to celebrate

 

[Bry Nylon]

Has this game been any good?

Got up at 6am here (2am UK time), and all I’ve seen in the past 30 minutes is punt punt punt punt punt….

I missed it too.

Never mind. Had 1-1 written all over it.

 

[southstandandy]

The five mins of highlights on the Beeb website was pretty much all the play there was. Nearly 3 hours of adverts, so if you've not seen it, just watch the 5 min highlight reel.

Oh and the half time show stunk up the place.

Edit - confirmed 'in play ball time' for the entire match as 12mins and 10 seconds. Could you imagine that in a Premier League football game?

 

[Blazing Apostle]

I always view it as a game of chess rather a free flowing sport like football - enjoyable game - always best watched recorded to fast forward through the ads....and constant chat

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

Well done Rams, gutted for Cincy……. In reality the offensive line just couldn’t quite give Joe Burrow enough time.

Hope OBJ okay, and Burrow didn’t damage his knee too badly…..

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

No idea, looked a face mask penalty to me but no coach challenge

Can you challenge a non Facemask call?

Really not sure what you can and can’t challenge, particularly pass interference which was changed after the Rams v Saints game in 2019.

 

[Vatican Citys No.2 Keeper]

Absolutely gutting way for it to end for Cinci, as was pulling for them to win the whole thing after they beat us Raiders in the Wildcard round. Watched the game at Walkabout in Brighton, which was a great atmosphere, especially during the half time show, and almost everyone there was backing the Bengals.

For a lot of the game Burrow did such a good job of avoiding the sack with how quick he was getting the ball out of his hands to his receivers (Average of 2.41secs, fastest for him this season) but that second Von Miller sack that he came off the field wincing on took a lot of the wind out of their sails and allowed the Rams to expose their O-line issues we all knew about. Some superb moments from them on both sides of the ball, from the Chase one handed catch to likes of Logan Wilson stepping up on the defence. This won't be the last time we see them making a late run in the season as they've got the cap room and depth across the team to fully focus their off-season spending and draft capital on putting a proper O-line in front of Burrow.

Rams had their struggles, but in the key moments their star players stepped up in the biggest spots. That final drive with all those Kupp receptions was a masterclass in clock management and moving the ball in increments. Felt like Stafford made a great adjustment to drop back further to give the O-line more time to block and for Kupp to get open. The frustrating aspect that spoiled the end of the drive for me was some of the 50/50 flags called that started to be thrown by the refs in the Redzone after they'd kept the flags in their pockets for pretty much the whole game, but there is the argument that did even out the blatant facemask from Higgins on that long TD early in the second half. And regardless, that was a drive they looked like they were going to finish off regardless.

Either team would have been worthy of being winners and there were lots of great stories and guys to root for (less said about the owners because Kroenke doesn't deserve anything good after how he screwed over St Louis) but ultimately the Rams went clutch in the 4th and that made the difference. Would be shocking if Donald retired given he's still got a few more years of elite performance in him at age 30, but he really has won about every honour a Defensive player could realistically wish for.

Best result of the night? My 28/1 bet (Von Miller 2+ Sacks, Tee Higgins 100+ ya, OBJ TD) came in for a return of £145

 

[Fignon's Ponytail]

Absolutely gutting way for it to end for Cinci, as was pulling for them to win the whole thing after they beat us Raiders in the Wildcard round. Watched the game at Walkabout in Brighton, which was a great atmosphere, especially during the half time show, and almost everyone there was backing the Bengals.

We had a booth booked (as weve had every year for the last few Superbowls) but had to cancel on Friday after a few of the group tested + for covid and another couple bailed. Was gutted after missing last year due to lockdown as well - such a good atmosphere down at Walkabout each year.


Ended up going to bed at 9.30pm, and still haven't even bothered watching the highlights of the game

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

Can you challenge a non Facemask call?

Pretty sure you can't

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

NFL plays that are reviewable, including the following:

Completions/Incompletions;
Fumbles (a team must have clear possession of the football to be overturned);
Spot of the ball;
Runner down by contact;
Goal line plays (if a play is not called a touchdown on the field);
12 players on the field at the snap, even if a penalty is not called.
The NFL's one-year experiment of offensive and defensive pass interference came to an end prior to the 2020 season.

What plays are not reviewable?:

Turnovers, which are automatically reviewed;
Scoring plays, which are automatically reviewed;
Penalties, including offensive or defensive pass interference;
Turnovers after the whistle is blown;
Forward progress.

 

[Albion my Albion]

Can you challenge a non Facemask call?

Really not sure what you can and can’t challenge, particularly pass interference which was changed after the Rams v Saints game in 2019.

You pretty well can't challenge anything that was not called in the first place. You can challenge that a call was made incorrectly by showing the video and determining by overwhelming evidence that the call was incorrect.

But if you want to referee a Super Bowl again you bloody hell better not miss an obvious call like the blown face masking call.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

NFL plays that are reviewable, including the following:

Completions/Incompletions;
Fumbles (a team must have clear possession of the football to be overturned);
Spot of the ball;
Runner down by contact;
Goal line plays (if a play is not called a touchdown on the field);
12 players on the field at the snap, even if a penalty is not called.
The NFL's one-year experiment of offensive and defensive pass interference came to an end prior to the 2020 season.

What plays are not reviewable?:

Turnovers, which are automatically reviewed;
Scoring plays, which are automatically reviewed;
Penalties, including offensive or defensive pass interference;
Turnovers after the whistle is blown;
Forward progress.

Thanks.

Interesting what you can’t, given the near assault on the Saints player by the Rams DB in 2019….. I thought that was why it was widened?

Appreciate your clarification though.

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

Thanks.

Interesting what you can’t, given the near assault on the Saints player by the Rams DB in 2019….. I thought that was why it was widened?

Appreciate your clarification though.

Yes that was a shocking decision, I think that lead to challenging pass interference calls for a season and then it was dropped again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS40iaejHT0

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

A peculiar sport, about as far removed from association football as one can get.

Probably quite exciting once one knows the rules . . . unforunately l don't.