WATCH | Rams beat Bengals in thriller to win Super Bowl on home field

Eminem took a knee during the halftime show at Sunday’s game

14 February 2022 - 08:07 By Reuters
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The Los Angeles Rams celebrate after beating the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on February 13, 2022
The Los Angeles Rams celebrate after beating the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on February 13, 2022
Image: REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

The hometown Los Angeles Rams came from behind to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in a thrilling Super Bowl on Sunday, claiming the franchise's first championship since returning to LA, and its second overall.

With the victory, the Rams, whose last NFL title came 22 years ago when they were based in St Louis, joined last year's Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the only teams to win a Super Bowl on their home field. Quarterback Matthew Stafford kept his poise to put together a 15-play drive that ended with a short touchdown pass to Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp with 1:25 left to play, and Aaron Donald wrapped up Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, sealing the win.

"I dreamed this," an emotional Donald said after the game.

"I feel amazing."

The Rams lost star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jnr to a knee injury in the second quarter and gave up a 13-10 halftime lead, but rallied to deliver LA its Hollywood ending under the lights of SoFi Stadium.

"I'm so proud of this team. So many guys on our team deserve this, guys who have given their heart and soul to this team," said Stafford, who joined the team from Detroit last off season.

"That game today is the story of this season. It's up and down, it's tough but we got it done," he said.

Los Angeles-area natives Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre united for  California Love, surprise guest 50 Cent hung upside down and rapper Eminem took a knee as superstars of hip-hop performed a high-energy halftime show at the Super Bowl. The star-packed lineup, also featuring R&B star Mary J Blige and rapper Kendrick Lamar, made hip-hop the focus of the halftime extravaganza, a platform that draws the world's top musical acts. The musicians sang a medley of hits and traversed the roofs and interiors of a row of white buildings assembled on the football field.

Eminem ended his hit Lose Yourself by kneeling and placing his head in his hand, a gesture former quarterback Colin Kaepernick made during the National Anthem at NFL games as a call for racial justice. Kaepernick has not played since the 2016 season as no NFL team hired him after he began kneeling. Media outlet Puck reported earlier on Sunday that the NFL had told Eminem not to kneel during the performance. NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said the report was untrue.

NFL staff watched halftime rehearsals this week and the kneeling was included at that time, he said. Dre and Snoop Dogg opened the show with The Next Episode and California Love. Rapper 50 Cent, an unannounced guest, began rapping In Da Club while suspended from a ceiling upside down. Wearing a sequined white outfit with thigh-high boots, Blige performed Family Affair in front of a sparkling group of backup dancers.

Before the show, Dre and Snoop Dogg said the NFL should have embraced rap years ago and they hoped to open doors for more hip-hop artists. Rap musicians have appeared previously but alongside pop and rock acts.

"The greatest halftime show I have ever seen," Los Angeles Lakers basketball star LeBron James, who was seated in the crowd, wrote on Twitter.


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