At halftime, the Los Angeles Rams led the Cincinnati Bengals 13-10
Matthew Stafford has thrown two touchdowns and rushed for 165 yards. Odell Beckham Jr., his main target in the second half, is questionable after sustaining a left leg injury with 3:50 remaining in the first quarter. This is the same knee Beckham injured during the 2020 season. Beckham, a wide receiver, went to the locker room and caught two passes for 52 yards and one touchdown.
Cooper Kupp has three catches of 40 yards, and the Rams' other TD.
Joe Burrow has thrown for Cincinnati 114 yards. Running back Joe Mixon threw the Bengals' lone TD pass to Tee Higgins.
Mike Hilton, a Cincinnati cornerback, was the one who caused the first turnover in the game. He worked his way into the end zone in front of Van Jefferson, a Rams wide receiver. Stafford ran out left on third and 14 and threw from the middle of the field. Officials flagged Cincinnati as unsportsmanlike for not taunting, but because a player in a hoodie and not in uniform ran into the end zone to cheer. Cincinnati was forced to take the field at its own 10, with just 2 minutes remaining in the first half.
Stafford was tied with 17 other players for the record in interceptions during the regular season. He now has two postseason interceptions. Eli Manning, Giants' 2007 season quarterback, was the only one to record the most interceptions and win a Super Bowl.
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Odell Beckham Jr., Los Angeles Rams receiver, was injured on a noncontact play in the second quarter.
Beckham was crossing the field to the right, but his foot seemed to have caught in the turf. As he fell onto the turf, he dropped Matthew Stafford's pass.
Before being taken off the field, Beckham was examined by trainers. Beckham was briefly examined in the medical tent at the Rams' sideline, before he went to the locker room.
Beckham was signed by the Rams following his release by Cleveland in midseason. He had two receptions of 52 yards. Los Angeles' first touchdown was scored when Beckham beat Mike Hilton in right corner for a 17 yard score.
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Los Angeles Rams: The Cincinnati Bengals' first touchdown has brought them within 13-10 of the Los Angeles Rams in the second quarter.
Joe Mixon, running back, ran to his right and then threw to Tee Higgins wide open in the end zone. It was a 6-yard touchdown with 5:47 remaining.
This was the end of a 12-play, 75 yard drive by the Bengals which took 7:04 from the clock.
Bengals fans cheered loudly after the extra point and chanted "Who Dey!"
Mixon was the fifth non-quarterback to pass a TD in the Super Bowl. Trey Burton will be playing Philadelphia against the Patriots in 2018. Antwaan Randle El played in 2006 against Pittsburgh, Lawrence McCutcheon was in 1980 against the Steelers, and Dallas' Robert Newhouse was in 1978 against Denver.
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Matthew Stafford has a near perfect start. The Los Angeles Rams are leading by 13-3 over the Cincinnati Bengals.
With 12:51 remaining in the second quarter, Stafford completed a 75-yard drive by completing an 11-yard TD pass for Offensive Player-of-the-Year Cooper Kupp. Kupp was open for his 21st TD catch of the season and no Bengals touched him.
This puts him in a very exclusive group. Jerry Rice had 22 TDs both in 1987 and 1989. Randy Moss holds the NFL record for TD catches with 24 in 2007.
Stafford is 9/10 for 127 yards with two TD passes. At 158.3, his passer rating is perfect.
Stafford is the second quarterback to have a perfect passer rating in all four Super Bowl drives since 2000. Matt Ryan was also perfect against the Patriots in 2017.
The Bengals recovered the ball after a botched snap by Rams on the extra-point.
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After the first quarter, the Los Angeles Rams led Super Bowl 56 by 7 points and the Cincinnati Bengals by 7 points.
With 28 seconds remaining, Evan McPherson, a Bengals rookie, kicked a field goal from 29 yards to keep Cincinnati scoreless for the first 15 minutes. McPherson's 13th field goal in this postseason was a 29-yarder. He broke the NFL record of 14, which Adam Vinatieri set in 2006.
After a spectacular one-handed catch from Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati had first and 10, at the Rams 11. As he ran downfield, Jalen Ramsey covered the ball. The Offensive Rookie-of-the-Year tracked the ball and caught Joe Burrow’s pass with his righthand for a 46-yard touchdown reception.
McPherson was sent out for the field goal by the Bengals, but they couldn't even pick up a yard on just three plays.
This is the third consecutive Super Bowl in which both teams have scored in the first quarter. This had already happened twice in the 12 previous Super Bowls.
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If you play a Super Bowl near Hollywood, it is a sure sign that the stars will be out. This is the case with the Los Angeles Rams as they attempt to win their 22nd consecutive championship.
Charlize Theron was seen dancing in her chair wearing a Rams cap, while Jennifer Lopez watched regally.
LeBron James, along with Lakers legend Kareem Abdul Jabbar, is at SoFi Stadium. Clayton Kershaw, the Los Angeles Dodgers' pitcher, is at SoFi Stadium to watch Matthew Stafford, his high school friend, play quarterback for Rams.
Country singer Kenny Chesney is also present, as well as actors Matt Damon and Andy Garcia, Sean Penn, Chris Tucker, and Kevin Hart.
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Los Angeles Rams score the first Super Bowl 56 victory.
Matthew Stafford completed the Rams' second drive by throwing a touchdown to Odell Beckham Jr. from 17 yards with just 6:22 remaining in the first quarter. Beckham was able to catch the ball over Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton. The wide receiver celebrated his touchdown with a quick moonwalk. After being cut by the Cleveland Browns, Beckham signed with Los Angeles in November 11.
Stafford is 4-4 for 47 yards with a 155.2 passer rating. This is the start of the game.
Because the defense forced Cincinnati to give up on downs, the Rams were able to run 50 yards in just six plays.
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It's nine consecutive Super Bowls in which neither team has scored on the opening drive.
Los Angeles Rams began on offense and ended up with 1 yard due to a sack by Matthew Stafford's Pro Bowl defensive end Trey Hendrickson.
Cincinnati tried to get it on fourth-and-1 at the midfield. Ernest Jones, a linebacker, stopped Joe Burrow from passing to the Bengals and turned them over on downs.
After being shut out in their previous Super Bowls, the Bengals will be looking to score their first touchdown during the first half. Cincinnati's opening drive of the season saw them score just 17 points, tied for the second-lowest number in the NFL. They had only scored 10 points in playoffs.
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The coin toss has been won by the Cincinnati Bengals, and they have deferred to the Los Angeles Rams to take the offensive to begin Super Bowl 56.
This may not be the sign Bengals fans desire.
The Super Bowl was lost by the seven previous coin-toss winners. Who was the last to win both the Super Bowl and the coin toss? Seattle beat Denver in 2014.
Matthew Stafford, Rams quarterback, called Los Angeles the visiting team. Billie Jean King threw the coin and it came up heads.
King was present for the coin toss, as the NFL celebrated the 50th anniversary of Title IX's 1972 enactment as part of the Education Amendments. This amendment provided equal funding for women and men at all levels of federally funded high schools, colleges, and universities.
The California School for the Deaf Riverside Cubs team captains were there to support her, as well as members of the high school girls flag League of Champions and youth football players for the Watts Rams and Inglewood Chargers.
King posted a video of King practicing the coin tossing before kickoff. King wrote, "Pressure is an honor" and noted that the tip to bend her knees helped a lot.
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Quickie Mickey" slowed the Super Bowl down.
According to Mickey Guyton, she claimed that she had earned the nickname because she sang "The Star Spangled Banner in a tight 1:30". She did this on Sunday, before the Los Angeles Rams or Cincinnati Bengals took to the field.
Oddsmakers had set the over/under for the anthem length to 1:35.
The Grammy-nominated country singer said that while she didn't wish to ruin anyone's sports bets but it was the Super Bowl so it is most likely it won't be as fast," according to the AP.
She was still faster that the Super Bowl average time of about two minutes.
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Super Bowl 56 is hot at SoFi Stadium. It's not the hottest game ever.
After cooling off from 85 just a few hours prior to kickoff, the temperature is now at 82. California has been experiencing a heat wave for the past week, with temperatures in the 90s.
This is less than the record of 84, which was set at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on January 14, 1973.
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It will cost you a lot to get into the Super Bowl at the last moment.
StubHub reports that Sunday's get-in price was $3,800. This is a 10% increase over Saturday and an average ticket price of $6,136. This is a drop of 8% from Saturday.
There were still more than 1,400 tickets on the site Sunday morning.
Californian fans have purchased nearly 40% more tickets in the last 24 hours, and nearly 35% of all new tickets were sold within that time.
Cincinnatians have been busy, with Ohio buyers accounting for 8%.
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Super Bowl 56 kickoff is less than an hour away, with both teams warming up at SoFi Stadium.
Joe Burrow and Matthew Stafford will be leading the Cincinnati Bengals. They are all dressed in modern throwback white Rams jerseys. Each team will be able to reach the Super Bowl for the first time.
Burrow is the fastest player to move from No. This is the best way to start in this game.
After being traded by the Rams, Stafford had never won a playoff match. Stafford finishes with 49,995 yards of passing and 323 TD passes. This is the highest Super Bowl total for a rookie quarterback. Stafford must pass only 209 yards to become the sixth player who reaches 6,000 yards in a single season.
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SoFi Stadium is home to the "Who Dey" fans.
People wearing Bengals jerseys fill the concourses almost four times more than Rams jerseys. Joe Burrow's No. 1 jersey is the most in-demand. 9.
The Bengals faithful don't wait for kickoff. They are walking around shouting "Who Dey!" in the house of their opponent.
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Super Bowl 56 could be history at kickoff, before the Los Angeles Rams or Cincinnati Bengals start the opening drives.
Temperature two hours prior to kickoff was 85 degrees. The gauge could rise even higher when the ball is kicked off. This would make it the hottest Super Bowl, surpassing the record of 84 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on January 14, 1973.
California is currently experiencing a heat wave, with eight areas in the state reporting record-breaking temperatures of the upper 80s to the low 90s this week.
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Many people are not wearing masks while inside Super Bowl 56. However, signs have been placed around SoFi Stadium to remind them that they should wear masks. President Joe Biden said that people need to be cautious, not only for themselves but also for their families and children.
Lester Holt asked Biden about the Super Bowl's maskless participants in an interview that was broadcast during NBC's pregame program. He said that he enjoys hearing people speak about personal freedom. Biden stated that he does not consider those who don't wear masks to be practicing freedom. Biden says they are putting their health and the health of others at risk.
He encouraged everyone to get vaccinated, and to use the tools that can help prevent serious illness and death.
Two days after the Super Bowl, California will be relaxing mask requirements Tuesday.
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Technically, the Cincinnati Bengals are Sunday's home team in the Super Bowl. Los Angeles Rams have the home-field advantage.
After spending the night in their hotel, the NFC champions (15-5), will get dressed up and go to work in their normal locker room. All around SoFi Stadium, the logo of the Rams is visible. There are banners indicating that this is the Super Bowl.
Yes, the Bengals (13-7), are represented in the stadium with their name as well as the "Who Dey!" mantra. They face the Rams.
After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady won the championship last year in Raymond James Stadium, this is the second consecutive Super Bowl where the home team gets to play on their own field. The NFL had not hosted a Super Bowl in their home stadium for 54 years.
