The Los Angeles Rams went down 17-13 early in the second half of the Super Bowl after the Cincinnati Bengals scored a 75-yard touchdown on the first play of the third quarter. They also trailed 20-16 midway through the fourth quarter. But after a clutch touchdown drive by Matthew Stafford and the offense to take a 23-20 lead, the defense stepped up on the final drive to cap off a special performance from Raheem Morris’ group.
Morris, who was with the Atlanta Falcons when they blew a 28-3 lead against the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl in 2016, used his experience with the Falcons to aid the Rams in achieving their ultimate goal of winning a championship.
“There’s no doubt about it, in those moments, people tend to get tight. And we got tight in Atlanta,” Morris told Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. “We lost that game. We got tight all across the board, whether you wanna say it was on defense, whether you say it was offense, or special teams, we didn’t have the ability to close that game out. I didn’t want these guys to get tight. So when Aaron jumped off that bench, I knew that wasn’t a tight moment—that was a moment where he was ready to just go out there and thrive in the adversity, and go win this football game.
Stafford had just thrown a touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp with under two minutes remaining in the game, giving the Rams a 23-20 lead over the Bengals. While Morris noticed members of the Falcons getting overwhelmed as their lead evaporated, he didn’t see the same with the Rams throughout their showdown with the Bengals.
Morris also spoke about how impressive it was to see everyone on the Rams remain even-keeled in the second half despite a disastrous start, which he credited to Sean McVay.
”I don’t think anybody got tight when they took the lead. I don’t think anybody got tight when they got the big play coming out of halftime, right into the interception. Everybody stayed the course. That even keel, that steady feel, credit has to go to Sean McVay and how the team is run. But it definitely was a lesson learned for me going into this game. You wanted to stay the course, and let these guys go out and win the football game.”
Los Angeles held a 13-10 lead at halftime, but on the very first play of the second half, Joe Burrow connected with Tee Higgins on a 75-yard touchdown reception. And on the ensuing drive, Stafford threw an interception that resulted in the Bengals taking a 20-13 lead.
Even amid the chaos, the Rams continued to battle through and they were able to secure a 23-20 win to earn their first Super Bowl win since the 1999 season. After witnessing players on the Falcons fold under pressure in his last opportunity to win a Super Bowl, Morris was confident in the Rams to pull a victory out due to their ability to stay calm in high-pressure situations.
