The Bengals had to know that if they wanted to run the ball in Super Bowl LIV, they needed to stay away from Rams defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson, who’s been his team’s best run-stopper all season long. But on third-and-1 from the Rams’ 49-yard line with 10:39 left in the first quarter, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor called for running back Samaje Perine to run right into the teeth of Los Angeles’ impressive defensive front, and Robinson was the guy right on the spot with the stop, limiting Perine to no yardage, and crossing several gaps to do so.
the Bengals specifically try to run away from A'Shawn Robinson on 3rd-and-1, but Jonah Williams collapses like a house of cards and one play later it's a turnover on downs pic.twitter.com/WzyUtajZN3
— Christian D'Andrea, 2021 PAC champion (@TrainIsland) February 13, 2022
Yeah, we’ve talked about the Bengals’ offensive line all week long, and it already bit them here.
Then, Bengals Taylor made the call to go for it on fourth-and-1. Joe Burrow tried to get the ball to Ja’Marr Chase quickly, but rookie linebacker Ernest Jones was right where he needed to be, as he was following Perine out of the backfield in man coverage, and broke up the pass.
Rams get the 4TH DOWN STOP. #RamsHouse
📺: #SBLVI on NBC
📱: https://t.co/K02y40b5Nu pic.twitter.com/jPyUXn0hJX— NFL (@NFL) February 13, 2022
That was the first truly important play in Super Bowl LVI. Six plays later, the second important play in Super Bowl LVI happened, when Matthew Stafford hit Odell Beckham Jr. on a 17-yard touchdown against cornerback Mike Hilton and Cincinnati’s ill-fated man coverage.
First Super Bowl Catch. First Super Bowl Touchdown.@OBJ | @RamsNFL
📺: #SBLVI on NBC
📱: https://t.co/K02y40b5Nu pic.twitter.com/cuJbh57zCH— NFL (@NFL) February 13, 2022
Zac Taylor might want to cool his jets a bit with the aggressiveness.
