The Cincinnati Bengals came up just short in the Super Bowl.
The Bengals entered the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LVI with a 20-16 lead over the Los Angeles Rams and, after a brief Joe Burrow injury scare, let this one come down to the wire as Matthew Stafford marched down the field.
A dream ending got cut short for the Bengals on a 4th-and-1 with seconds left.
Here are some quick notes and stats to know coming out of the game.
Quick Hits
— Fun nod to critical players before the game: Vonn Bell, Joe Burrow, Joe Mixon, Kevin Huber were your Super Bowl captains out for the coin toss.
— Bengals defense started hot on the first drive, getting a sack and critical run stuffs.
— Aggressive Zac Taylor made an early appearance on the offense’s first drive. It failed, but it showed major trust the coaches have in the defense.
— Mike Hilton got beat on the OBJ touchdown in the first quarter. He’s had solid games most of the year, but tracking OBJ is a mismatch the Rams were happy to hit.
— Ja’Marr Chase made one of the best catches of the year.
— It was Eli Apple getting beat on the Rams’ second touchdown, that one to Cooper Kupp.
— Zac Taylor called a wicked Super Bowl trick play that will go down in history, provided the Bengals win.
— Stafford kept cruising near the end of the first half. But a Jessie Bates interception in the endzone halted it. That was just another reminder of how badly the team needs to re-sign him, as he’s had an exceptional postseason.
— Vernon Hargreaves, inactive, committed one of the worst penalties you’ll see by a player in a Super Bowl.
— Unbelievable start to the second half for the Bengals. Tee Higgins caught a 75-yard touchdown from Burrow, then Chidobe Awuzie immediately picked off Matthew Stafford. Only resulted in three more points, but a 10 point swing is pretty hard to complain about.
— Pressure notably started to get to Burrow a bit from there, no better stressed than by a straight-up miss to Chase that would’ve moved the chains while up 20-16.
— The line fully collapsed in the late third and fourth quarter, to the point there was even an injury scare with Burrow.
— Tyler Boyd’s first drop of the season came on a third-and-nine at a critical moment. He turned his head around too early in an attempt to see the defenders and first-down chains.
— The Bengals couldn’t stop Cooper Kupp on the game’s final drive, and some spotty penalty flags didn’t help.
Key Stat
1.9: Rams yards per carry. Of the many notable stats, this one sticks out majorly. Sean McVay wanted to run, and do it often, against the Bengals defense. Sam Hubbard and Co. were simply having none of it, getting the best of a very good offensive line.
Game Balls
Tee Higgins: It was a safe bet one of the Bengals wideouts were going to pop off in the Super Bowl. Higgins ended up being the guy for most of the game, catching two touchdowns and going for 100 yards before the fourth quarter.
The Defense: No really, all of them. There were a couple of bad-looking touchdown allowances, but the entire unit stepped up against the run, had constant tackles for loss and made the key plays, bailing out a struggling Burrow-led offense that couldn’t get a ton going.
Top Takeaway
There’s more to come: No matter the result, the season was an incredible success for a Bengals team with droves of resources to only keep getting better in future years.
