Super Bowl LVI

Super Bowl LVI was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams defeated the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals 23–20. The game was played on February 13, 2022, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the home stadium of the Rams, marking the second consecutive and second overall Super Bowl with a team playing and winning in its home stadium. To date, this is the latest Super Bowl played during the calendar year, but Super Bowl LXI, to be played at this same venue, is scheduled to be a day later.

The Rams' victory was their second overall, first as a Los Angeles-based team, and first since winning 1999's Super Bowl XXXIV when they were based in St. Louis. Finishing with a 12–5 record, the Rams reached their fifth Super Bowl appearance after acquiring veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, who had not won a playoff game in his previous 12 years with the Detroit Lions. The Bengals, who finished with a 10–7 record, were seeking their first Super Bowl title following several decades of losing seasons and playoff struggles. They won their first playoff game since 1990, ending the longest drought in the four major North American sports, en route to their third Super Bowl appearance and first since 1988's Super Bowl XXIII. Each team finished the regular season as their respective conference's 4-seed, making this the first Super Bowl without a top-3 seed since seeding was introduced in 1975.

The game had three lead changes and was mostly kept within a one-possession margin. Los Angeles led 13–10 at halftime, but the Bengals scored 10 straight points on their first two drives in the third quarter. Trailing 20–16 in the fourth, the Rams scored a touchdown to retake the lead with under two minutes remaining and stopped Cincinnati's final drive on downs. Wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who converted a fourth down on the Rams' final drive and scored the game-winning touchdown, was named Super Bowl MVP.

NBC's broadcast of Super Bowl LVI was the second-most watched in the game's history, marking a shift from several years of declining ratings. Seen by an average of 112.3 million total viewers on both NBC and its streaming platforms, the game's ratings were up 8% from the previous Super Bowl.

Background

Host selection process

In contrast to most previous Super Bowls, no traditional bids were accepted for the hosting of Super Bowl LVI. The hosting duties for LIII, LIV, and LV were drawn from a pool of four candidates during the NFL owners' meeting on May 24, 2016:

• Atlanta – Mercedes-Benz Stadium
• Miami – Hard Rock Stadium
• Los Angeles – SoFi Stadium (which was under construction)
• Tampa – Raymond James Stadium

SoFi Stadium was not eligible for LIII as it would still be under construction at that time. In addition, it was not likely to secure LIV either because the league typically disallows stadiums from hosting the Super Bowl during its first season of operation. Atlanta received LIII, Miami received LIV, and Los Angeles was granted LV. Tampa was not selected.

About a year later, on May 18, 2017, developers announced that record rainfall in the Los Angeles area had postponed the completion of SoFi Stadium. It was originally scheduled to open in time for the 2019 season, but would now be delayed until 2020. As a result, at the NFL owners' meetings in Chicago on May 23, 2017, Super Bowl LV was pulled from Los Angeles, and reassigned to runner-up Tampa. At the same time, Los Angeles was awarded Super Bowl LVI, the next game available, and no other cities were considered. It would be the first Super Bowl in the greater Los Angeles area since XXVII was played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and the eighth all-time.

The official logo for the game was unveiled on February 9, 2021, maintaining the standard design used since Super Bowl LI, but introducing sunset-themed designs reflecting the landscape of the host city/region (featuring in this case palm trees) within the traditional Roman numerals.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

In early January 2022, it was reported that AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, was being considered as an alternate site for the game as a contingency plan due to an increase of COVID-19 infections in California attributed to the Omicron variant. The stadium last hosted Super Bowl XLV in 2011. However, the NFL later confirmed on January 13 that the game would remain at SoFi Stadium, as the NFL saw an increased interest in the potential of the Rams playing a home Super Bowl game.

Attendance at the game was not limited, unlike Super Bowl LV in 2021, which was played with an audience at 37% of the capacity. Fans who went to the Super Bowl festivities prior to the game and those who attended the Super Bowl received a free KN95 mask. Per Los Angeles County public health orders, those attending the game were required to show proof of vaccination, a negative PCR test that was taken within 48 hours, or a negative antigen test that was taken within 24 hours. The proof of vaccination requirement had been implemented for large outdoor events in Los Angeles County since October 2021.

Those requesting media accreditation for the Super Bowl and playoffs were required to be fully vaccinated and have received at least one booster dose of vaccine.

Teams

Los Angeles Rams

The Los Angeles Rams finished the 2021 season with a 12–5 record under fifth-year head coach Sean McVay. This was their fifth Super Bowl appearance, third as a Los Angeles–based team, and second under McVay. The franchise held a 1–3 Super Bowl record prior to the game, winning Super Bowl XXXIV in 1999 as the St. Louis Rams. They also won two pre-Super Bowl era championships in 1945 as the Cleveland Rams and 1951 during their first stint in Los Angeles.

After the Rams lost 2018's Super Bowl LIII, quarterback Jared Goff suffered a decline in production, which led to tension between Goff and McVay. Ahead of the 2021 season, the Rams traded Goff, two first-round picks, and a third-round pick to the Detroit Lions in exchange for 12-year veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford. Selected first overall by the Lions in the 2009 NFL draft, Stafford held an 0–3 playoff record, but ranked in the top 20 of major passing categories and was considered more suited to Los Angeles' offense. The team made another significant acquisition midway through the season when they traded a second- and third-round draft pick to the Denver Broncos for eight-time Pro Bowl linebacker Von Miller. A few weeks later, they signed free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., a three-time Pro Bowl selection, after he was released by the Cleveland Browns.

The Rams offense ranked ninth in yards (6,325) and tied with the Bengals for eighth in points scored (460). Stafford had career highs in touchdowns (41) and completion percentage (67.2), although he led the league in interceptions (17). He also set franchise records for single-season pass completions (404) and passing yards (4,886), while tying the passing touchdowns record. Wide receiver Cooper Kupp became the fourth NFL player and first since 2005 to obtain the receiving triple crown by leading the league in receptions (145), receiving yards (1,947), and receiving touchdowns (16). The Offensive Player of the Year, his receiving yards and receptions were both the second-most in a season. Kupp was joined by wide receiver Van Jefferson, who had 802 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns, and tight end Tyler Higbee, who had 560 receiving yards. Beckham added 537 yards and 5 touchdowns, helping fill the absence of the injured Robert Woods. The team's leading rusher at 845 yards was running back Sony Michel, who was acquired in a trade with the New England Patriots after Cam Akers missed most of the regular season with an Achilles tendon injury. Akers returned to the active roster ahead of the playoffs. Running back Darrell Henderson added 688 rushing yards until he was injured in Week 16, although he was able to return for the Super Bowl. The Rams' offensive line was led by 16-year veteran tackle Andrew Whitworth, who spent his first 11 seasons with the Bengals.

Defensively, the Rams ranked 17th in yards allowed (5,863) and 15th in points allowed (372). Named to the Pro Bowl were defensive tackle Aaron Donald (eighth selection), who led the team in sacks (12.5), and cornerback Jalen Ramsey (fifth selection), whose 4 interceptions were tied with safety Taylor Rapp for the most on the team. Linebacker Leonard Floyd complemented Donald with 9.5 sacks and Miller had 5 sacks after joining the team. The safety tandem of Rapp (64 solo tackles, 94 total) and Jordan Fuller (63 solo tackles, 113 total) had the most solo and combined tackles for the Rams, respectively. After an injury in the regular season finale forced Fuller to miss the playoffs, Los Angeles signed six-time Pro Bowl safety Eric Weddle out of retirement, who last played for the Rams in 2019. On special teams, placekicker Matt Gay earned Pro Bowl honors after leading the league in field goal percentage (94.1).