Sports Illustrated Special - Super Bowl LVI Commemorative (2022)

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its heels all night, not allowing the Cardinals to score

until 4:11 remained in the third quarter and the game

was well in hand.

So here they were, the Rams, a presumed favorite

turned wobbly contender turned, well, we’ll see. After

all the trades, and all the signings, and all the various

maneuvering that fashioned the L.A. roster into one

of the most talented in the NFL, the win, for those

in the Nemo Suite and beyond, served as a reminder

of what is possible. Likely? No. But possible. Beating

Arizona means that the Rams will travel to Tampa

next week, to take on Tom Brady and the Bucs. Knock

off the defending champs and the Rams would have a

game against either the top-seeded Packers or division

nemesis 49ers. But after the Rams held quarterback

Kyler Murray to 137 passing yards, after they snagged

two interceptions, after Stafford limited mistakes and

the defense scored and a wideout completed a pass,

there were reasons to believe. Kupp, of course, chief

among them.

The party reached high pitch around the moment

Murray, under pressure from linebacker Troy Reeder

in the end zone, made a wild f ling that cornerback

David Long scooped up and carried in three yards for

a pick-six. That put the Rams up 21–0 midway through

the second quarter. In the Nemo Suite, as Kupp’s grand-

parents celebrated with a long embrace, a 50-yard-line

smooch and a series of f ist pumps, it seemed possible.

Anything. Everything. Including the home conference

championship game—same suite, same seats, their

favorite wideout’s beard still gloriously untrimmed.

By the time Kupp scored yet another touchdown on

a seven-yard reception early into the third quarter, the

Rams led 28–0, and the party at SoFi Stadium kicked

into overdrive. Kupp finished with a modest (by his

standards) five receptions for 61 yards and that score.

But the attention he drew, the decoy he became and the

way the offense functioned against a scheme the Rams

will likely see again—all positives, all wins, all enough

to look forward and at least consider what could hap-

pen over the next month. “A huge challenge,” Stafford

said, which is true but not debilitating, not after such

an impressive performance.

There’s no reason to read too deeply into one playoff

win, especially against a struggling opponent absent its

best receiver (DeAndre Hopkins), on the road. But this

is Stafford’s 13th NFL season, and this game marked

his first—his very first!—postseason victory. It’s hard to

win playoff games in the NFL, which means there’s also

little reason to diminish the Rams’ chances, not after

what those crowded in the Nemo Suite were finding.

And not after a best-case scenario start to playing the

game that matters most in SoFi Stadium, the one with

Roman numerals, scheduled for Feb. 13.

LOS ANGELES RAMS

STARS ALIGNED

Kupp (opposite) had five catches for

61 yards and a TD, while Miller (below) had

a sack and three tackles for loss.

AFTER ALL THE TRADES AND ALL THE SIGNINGS THAT FASHIONED

THE L.A. ROSTER INTO ONE OF THE MOST TALENTED IN THE

NFL, THIS WIN SERVED AS A REMINDER OF WHAT IS POSSIBLE.

NFC WILD CARD