By: Abby Altman

On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Rams became the 2nd team in NFL history to become  Super Bowl champs in their home stadium. This rare feat has now been accomplished in consecutive years, last year being won by the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay.

The Rams took an early advantage in the game, stopping the Bengals on 4th and 1 in their first drive, gaining excellent field position at their own 49 yard line. The Rams capitalized with a 17 yard bullet from Matthew Stafford to Odell Beckham Jr. in the end zone.

The Bengals responded with a field goal drive, propelled by Ja’marr Chase’s 30 yard catch at the 15. Evan McPherson’s kick was good from 29 yards, to close out the 1st quarter Rams 7, Bengals 3. 

The start of the 2nd quarter began with a Rams touchdown to Cooper Kupp. The extra point was fumbled by Rams placeholder John Hekker, and intercepted by the Bengals, holding the score 13-3. With 5 minutes left in the half, the Bengals charged downfield, capping off their drive with a touchdown pass to Tee Higgins, made by the Bengals RB Joe Mixon.

2 minutes into the Rams drive, Stafford attempted a short pass to Odell Beckham Jr., which resulted in an incomplete pass, and Beckham on the ground with a non contact ACL tear. He walked off the field with assistance, and was eventually ruled out for the remainder of the game.

 The Rams were unable to score, ending their drive with an Interception in the endzone just before the 2 minute warning. The Bengals, unable to score, headed into the locker room with a score of Rams 13, Bengals 10.

The Bengals came out of halftime fired up. It took just 12 seconds for the Bengals to take their first lead of the game, on a 40 yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins. The Bengals almost immediately got the ball back, on an interception by Chidobe Awuzie, intended for WR Ben Skowronek, who was in the game replacing OBJ. The interception turned into a Bengals 38 yard field goal by McPherson, putting the Bengals up by 7 in the 3rd quarter.

The 4th quarter started with the Bengals up by 4. With 12 minutes left in the game, Joe Burrow was sacked, and went down with an apparent knee injury. Burrow limped off the field, but declined medical attention. Burrow said he wasn’t coming out of the Super Bowl.

The 4th quarter remained scoreless until there was just 1:25 left on the clock, when Stafford connected with Kupp for the touchdown, putting the Rams up by 3. With 45 seconds left in the game, on 4th and 1, Joe Burrow was sacked, ending the game Rams 23, Bengals 20.

Joe Burrow was sacked 7 times in this game, 5 more times than Stafford, putting a heavy emphasis on the lack of a Bengals offensive line.

Burrow went 22/33 on Sunday, with just 1 touchdown, and no interceptions. Ja’marr Chase had 5 receptions for 89 yards, but was not able to land any of them in the end zone.

Stafford went 26/40, with 3 touchdowns, along with 2 interceptions. Cooper Kupp had 8 receptions for 92 yards and 2 touchdowns. Kupp was named Super Bowl LVI MVP.

By: Salman Said

Joe “Brrr” Burrow has had an outstanding postseason this year. His path to the Super Bowl has been remarkable, from defeating the Las Vegas Raiders to battling to remain alive against the AFC South’s top seed, Tennessee Titans. Joe Burrow led his team to its first AFC North title since 1988.

During the AFC Championship game, the Kansas City Chiefs, the team lead by 2018 MVP Patrick Mahomes, seemed invincible. DraftKing, the popular sports betting app, had the Kansas City Chiefs as the favorites to win by a large margin, and over 58% of all game bets were on the Chiefs to win.

The game appeared to be over before it even started, and the odds against the Bengals further grew when the Chiefs took a commanding 21-3 lead in the second quarter. During halftime, though, something sparked in the now-nicknamed Joe “Brrr” Burrow.

In what some might say was his greatest performance, Joe threw 2 touchdowns in the second half and battled through the pressure. He then led his Bengals to an upset win in overtime against the Chiefs.

Joe has been dubbed Joe “Brrr” Burrow for wearing a fur coat and a brand new JP9 diamond pendant to the stadium for AFC Championship game. When questioned if the diamonds were real, Joe said, “They’re definitely real. I think I make too much money to have fake ones.” His moniker “Brrr” is derived from the new slang term “ice”, which means diamonds. His diamonds are “icy”, therefore the onomatopoeia “Brrr” has a double-meaning to it, as it also refers to his “cool” demeanor when playing.

Joe’s incredible postseason will come to a storybook ending on Sunday, February 13th. He’ll be facing the 2019 Super Bowl runner-ups, and NFC West first seed, LA Rams in this now, so-called, legendary Super Bowl match-up. The star-studded Rams, led by Matthew Stafford, and ostracized wide-receiver Odel Beckham Jr, will be going against Joe “Brrr” Burrow and Super-Star Rookie, Ja’Marr Chase.

By: Abby Altman

With a 10-37 loss to the Packers in week 17, the Minnesota Vikings have been officially eliminated from playoff contention. This left many fans looking ahead to week 18, hoping to see a potential look into the Vikings future, through rookie QB Kellen Mond.  

Mond was a 3rd round draft pick out of Texas A&M, where he had a 59% completion rate, 71 touchdowns, and 27 interceptions through 4 years. Mond went 28/51 with 1 interception this preseason. 

Although many fans wanted to see Mond start in week 17, with Kirk Cousins under COVID protocols, Sean Mannion started, and Mond only saw 1 drive in the 4th quarter. Mond went 2/3 for just 5 yards. With no stakes in week 18, fans are looking to see Mond start against Chicago, but Zimmer shut down the idea quickly.

“Not particularly,” Zimmer told reporters when asked whether he wanted to “Get a look at Mond,” against the Bears. 

“Why not?”

“I see him every day,” Zimmer said.

Zimmer was recently fired from his head coaching position, along with Vikings general manager Rick Spielman. With Spielman gone, current QB Kirk Cousins’ future is up in the air. Spielman was instrumental in signing Cousins to a massive guaranteed contract, practically eliminating Minnesota’s cap space. 

Mond is officially listed as the Vikings third string quarterback, behind Sean Mannion as backup. Mannion has been in the league for 7 years, recording just 3 starts with 1 touchdown and no wins. Many fans are looking for Mond to see some more playing time when appropriate, which could be possible under the team’s future management. 

Kellen Mond is a big quarterback, with a strong arm. Athletically speaking, he is close to the opposite of Kirk Cousins. He is quick in the pocket and can make big plays with his legs, along with a great ability to sense the pass rush. 

Mond’s accuracy is one thing that could be keeping him off the field this season. In college, Mond only completed 59% of his passes, and 27 interceptions over his 4 seasons in Texas. Mond likes to take erratic, long passes downfield to show his arm strength, which leads to many potential risk factors. 

The Vikings offseason will be interesting in many ways, especially in the quarterback hunt, and the future of Kellen Mond.