In an NFL postseason dominated by close games, the Super Bowl delivered another exciting finish as the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals with a touchdown drive to take the lead at the end of the game. The Bengals had a chance to tie the game with a little over a minute left, but Aaron Donald got to Joe Burrow on fourth down at midfield to end any chance for the Bengals.
While the ending was exciting, both offenses struggled for long stretches in the game. The Bengals couldn’t protect Joe Borrow, and the Rams struggled behind a head-scratching game plan by Sean McVay. Many of us knew the Bengals would have trouble blocking the Rams front, but we didn’t expect McVay to continue calling running plays on first down when it was clear the Bengals were stopping the run. It’s one thing to have a game plan based on Cincinnati struggles against the run, but it’s quite another to continue running the ball on first down when the Bengals were obviously keying on the run.
Matthew Stafford was excellent on the final drive, and that’s exactly what you expect from a top-tier quarterback. His no-look pass to Cupp was nothing short of sensational. Cupp was amazing during the game, including a critical fourth down conversion on a WR sweep that kept the last drive alive. He certainly deserved the Super Bowl MVP trophy, though Donald would have been a worthy choice as well.
The answer of course is yes . . . Joe Borrow can pull this off. The question is what are the chances he can pull it off and would you be willing to bet real dollars he can pull this off.
As you can see from the screen shot above from the Super Bowl media day interviews, Burrow has certainly been adding to his “Joe Cool” image. He’s confident bordering on cocky, and he gives all the right visual with the shades and cool demeanor. He’s already proven that he one of the best, if not the best, young quarterback in the NFL, and he can certainly add to his legacy with a win today in the Super Bowl.
The kid is incredibly talented. But he’s up against a Los Angeles Rams team that matches up very well against his Cincinnati Bengals, so we might be looking at a Dan Marino scenario where a brilliant young quarterback gets stifled by a superior football team in the Super Bowl. Burrow fans would hope that if this transpires that Joe will have more shots at the title unlike Marino who suffered for years trying to get back to the big dance.
After a miserable rookie season under Jeff Fisher where he threw more interceptions than touchdowns, few would have predicted that Jared Goff would be a starting quarterback in the Super Bowl just two years later. Instead, many were tossing around the “bust” term.
Things certainly changed once Sean McVay took over the Rams and quickly resurrected Goff’s career and reputation with his innovative offensive schemes. This past season Goff completed 64.9% of his passes for 4,688 yards, 32 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions.
We’ve seen this movie before. For a generation, NFL fans have grown accustomed now to seeing Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and some version of the New England Patriots find their way into the Super Bowl. They’re also usually favorites as well apart from their first appearance where they were huge underdogs against . . . the St. Louis Rams. This year they’ll face the now Los Angeles Rams led by young coaching phenom Sean McVay and young quarterback Jared Goff. The current line has the Patriots favored by 2.5 points, which has grown from a slightly smaller opening spread and money jumped on the Patriots.
