Sports Illustrated Special - Super Bowl LVI Commemorative (2022)

27

SOARING

START

THE DOUBTS ARISING FROM LATE-SEASON

STUMBLES WERE QUICKLY ERASED

BY A DOMINANT WIN AGAINST ARIZONA

NFC WILD CARD

R AMS 34, CARDINALS 11

BY

GREG BISHOP

MI

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IZO

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LOS ANGELES RAMS

C

OOPER KUPP’S extended family

gathered inside Suite 4W-10 when

everything came together as the

Rams took on the Cardinals in the

NFL’s first playoff game to be sched-

uled for a Monday night. The Kupps

could not have asked for a better view (50-yard line,

fourth level), better stadium food (sushi, short ribs) or

a better reminder of the stakes (SoFi Stadium, which

was set to host Super LVI in just under four weeks). As

the Rams’ playoff push began, with Cooper at the center

of it, they couldn’t help but wonder. Imagine if...?

As Los Angeles’s playoff journey began, there were

celebrities in the stands, franchise legend Torry Holt

hyping up the crowd, Michael Buffer on the micro-

phone, let’s get ready to rumble and all that. As Kupp

found his coach, Sean McVay, for a quick embrace, it

was easy for those assembled in Suite 4W-10 to see

this game as the start of something more. The ground

shook. The crowd roared.

This wasn’t the space to address concerns that L.A.

supporters might have had, to mention the blown

lead late against San Francisco in the regular-season

REAL PICK-ME-UP

Long (22) cashed in on a
wild fling by Murray with
a three-yard interception
return for a touchdown.

Adapted from SI.com

January 18, 2022