Rams punch their ticket to the Super Bowl

The dream has finally become a reality for the Rams, who will play in the Super Bowl Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. 

The ultimate goal still isn’t yet achieved, but it’s an incredible accomplishment to make it to the Super Bowl and potentially win it all in front of your home crowd. SoFi Stadium was electric during the NFC championship game, and the atmosphere should be even more thrilling for the Super Bowl.

The Cincinnati Bengals will be going up against the Rams as the underdog team led by quarterback Joe Burrow, who had a bounceback season coming off a torn ACL. He won a national championship in college at LSU and two years later is getting ready to play in the Super bowl. 

His improvement and the emergence of rookie wide receiver and former college teammate Jamarr Chase, as well as the defense, have propelled the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance and on a deep playoff run. The Bengals have been to just three Super Bowls in total and will be playing in their first one since 1988. 

Cincinnati fans who haven’t witnessed many winning teams in a while are ecstatic about their team having such a turnaround. The Bengals have performed terribly for so long, and now they’re a competitive team that could potentially win it all. 

I have a relative who is a lifelong Bengals fan. He grew up near Cincinnati and has endured some bad Bengals teams over the years and is happy they are finally putting it all together. They are a young team hungry to win, but the Rams are hungrier and have worked hard to bring home a championship to Los Angeles.  

This matchup should be a highly competitive game between two highly skilled teams, but I predict the Rams will win because they have the stronger overall team both defensively and offensively, although it should be a great battle. 

Predictions:

• The Rams will score at least 28 points
• Matthew Stafford will have over 350 passing yards
• Odell Beckham Jr. and Cooper Kupp will combine for four touchdowns
• The defense will get at least one turnover and hold Bengals to under 14 points

The realization that the Rams could be eliminated from the playoffs came late in the third quarter, with the Rams trailing by 10 by a score of 17-7. Rams veteran defensive tackle Aaron Donald, a captain, was on the sideline huddling everyone together, trying to motivate his teammates to continue fighting until the final down and not lose hope just yet one game away from advancing. You could tell he wanted it just as much as the guy next to him to win this game—maybe even more. 

Did the Rams really make it this far—all the blood, sweat, and tears—just to be eliminated at home by a division opponent? Or could they change the narrative of the game? All the hard work during the offseason, practice, and the regular season has led the Rams to where they’re now. The game wasn’t over yet.

After a touchdown by the 49ers, the Rams answered immediately with a touchdown of their own, a quick strike from Matthew Stafford to Cooper Kupp. The crowd roared in excitement and you could sense a comeback on the horizon. A quick stop, then a Rams field goal tied the game until the Rams took the lead on a go-ahead field goal with just over a minute and a half left. 20-7 Rams!

 The 49ers had one final chance to drive down the field with a chance to tie or win the game. In the biggest of moments, the Rams defense made a stop getting pressure on the quarterback which led to an interception all but sealing the game. The Rams were on the verge of punching their ticket to Super Bowl 56 against the Cincinnati Bengals.