Super Bowl thoughts

[racepug]

I'm very disappointed that the Rams won. However, if there is ONE player on that team who deserves a S.B. ring (as far as I'm concerned), it's Aaron Donald. That guy is absolutely incredible. Congratulations to the Los Angeles Rams (and may they never win another S.B. during my lifetime).

[Ness]

I'm very disappointed that the Rams won. However, if there is ONE player on that team who deserves a S.B. ring (as far as I'm concerned), it's Aaron Donald. That guy is absolutely incredible. Congratulations to the Los Angeles Rams (and may they never win another S.B. during my lifetime).

Word. Sucked seeing the Rams win, but I'm happy for Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp, Andrew Whitworth, and Matt Stafford. Great players.

[JKelly]

1.) Bad call by referee at a critical point in the game. Surprising? No but still frustrating.

2.) Should have been a facemask call but Ramsey was out of position by that point so......I admit enjoyed seeing Ramsey getting burned again.

3.) I have a funny feeling McVay is going to pull a Madden in another couple of years and retire. Just got married wants a family, by 2026 he is doing Sunday Night Football with Terico

4.) Even though they didn't wear them yesterday, can LA please retire the dishrag colored unis?

5.) Hey Chris Simms, they are the Bengals not the Bangles.

6.) Neither Ramsey or Beckham will be happy next season.

[JWL]

It does make me wonder at times if the league has particular teams they want to see win and at times does a few things here and there to help them win.

The NFL needs to do this, why, exactly?

Also, as a fan of the NEW YORK Jets, why has the league decided they might as well play in Iowa and can go through multiple decades of nothingness (1970-80) and (2011 to current)?

[Bryan]

*I'm not as upset as others about the end of game penalties. I thought the hold call on Wilson was the most important play of the game because it gave the Rams a fresh set of downs at the goal line, and it really wasn't that bad of a hold...but the Bengals did benefit from the Higgins facemask call. I guess my point is that I've seen worse calls this year. I was annoyed when they let the Rams pile on Burrow after the whistle and Burrow hurt his knee, and the Bengals are penalized for a personal foul. But otherwise I thought the officials stayed out of the limelight until the end.

*Jalen Ramsey had a really bad game and looked like he lost his mind at one point. The Bengals probably should have exploited him more.

*I didn't like Zach Taylor and the Bengals going for it on 4th down on their first drive of the game. They were only at midfield, and the failed conversion led to the Rams 1st TD. Later in the game he went for it on 4th down at the Rams 25, converted it, and then got pushed back a few yards so it ended up being like a 40-yard FG anyways. I thought that was dumb, too, because the game had points at a premium. Kick the FG.

*Related, it seemed like the Bengals kept using Samaje Perine to convert on 3rd and short, and he ended up being 0/3 in those situations. Why not use Mixon on those important plays? The Rams insisted on handing the ball off to Cam Akers, who has been terrible the entire postseason. The longest run of the game for the Rams was 8 yards (shades of Dave Osborn/SB IX).

*The game itself was somewhat interesting, but not all that well-played. The Rams couldn't run block, the Bengals couldn't pass block, so neither team could consistently get anything done. Aaron Donald stood out, Kupp played a nice game, but it wasn't a bunch of spectacular performances offsetting one another. Stafford had some nice throws, but a lot of his shorter passes were extremely inaccurate, and the home run throwback effort was comical. He still had his typical INTs, but he got the job done in the end without the benefit of Beckham, Higbee, or a functional running game. So there is something to say for that. I still don't view him as a great QB...more like Jim Plunkett winning SB XV as opposed to Drew Brees finally getting a ring.

[Hail Casares]

I thought it was a really enjoyable game.

*The call on Wilson at the end of the game was the correct call. People can claim that it's ticky tack, but I disagree. It's a by the book hold. Wilson actually went to grab Kupp twice and the second grab was a clear hold. You can MAYBE get away with that call when the back judge is 30 yards away but not inside the 10 when he is 15 yards from the action looking right at it. If I'm the Bengals I'm more bothered that the Rams were able to get Kupp matched up on an ILB...and only getting a FG off a gift of an INT early in the 3rd Qtr.

*Some people complained the game bogged down in the 3rd and 4th and got boring. I disagree as well. The Rams felt like they were hanging on for dear life and the tension around the Bengals maybe pulling away with one more score. Donald and the Rams defense stood on their heads to keep them in the game during that time and it was a great performance.

[RRMarshall]

If the Bengals had won they would have set a precedent for the team with the worst offensive line ever to win a SB. Joe Burrow was sacked 19 times in the postseason, a mind-boggling number and his team was still in front with 4 minutes and change left in the game. Given that weakness I'm still amazed they reached the final game. Please no more talk of the Sugar Bear Hamilton Roughing the Passer playoff game. It's still too painful all these years later

[JKelly]

*The call on Wilson at the end of the game was the correct call.

I don't disagree that it was correct but what I have an issue with is the referees decided early on that they were " going to let them play". So if that is case, do it the entire game.

This was like an umpire with a strike zone from the waist to knees all 8 innings in a game 7 of a World Series and in the ninth he changes it to armpits to knees.

[Hail Casares]

*The call on Wilson at the end of the game was the correct call.

I don't disagree that it was correct but what I have an issue with is the referees decided early on that they were " going to let them play". So if that is case, do it the entire game.

This was like an umpire with a strike zone from the waist to knees all 8 innings in a game 7 of a World Series and in the ninth he changes it to armpits to knees.

What calls were ignored that gave you that impression?
I view the missed OPI on Higgins on a blown call, not a "let them play".