Sports Illustrated Special - Super Bowl LVI Commemorative (2022)

63

O

N THE THURSDAY afternoon before the NFC cham-

pionship game, everyone inside a tension-filled Rams

headquarters understood the backdrop, the history

and the magnitude. In roughly 72 hours, they would

host the 49ers, with a berth to Super Bowl LVI at

stake. This game—and that game—would be held in

their home venue, SoFi Stadium. But to play for a title

at home, they needed to confront their nemesis, the

same opponent who had beaten them six straight times.

Sean McVay and Von Miller met for a brief conversation that morning. Earlier

that week, Miller had talked to his coach about one moment that he believes

sparked the Broncos team he starred for during their triumph in Super Bowl

50. He wanted McVay to re-create it.
    That afternoon, McVay planned to pace the Rams through practice in full
    pads. McVay wondered whether it was too early to re-create what he and Miller
    had envisioned. But Miller smiled. He told him that when McVay chose to unveil
    their plan didn’t matter. How he’d unveil it did.
    “We need this,” Miller says McVay told him.
    Flash forward to that Sunday, after a Travin Howard interception had sealed

VON

MILLER

BY

GREG BISHOP

THE MIDSEASON PICKUP BROUGHT THE HEAT—NOT ONLY

AS A RUSHER BUT ALSO AS A LEADER WHO HELPED RE-CREATE

A MOMENT THAT LIFTED HIS FORMER TEAM TO A TITLE

LOS ANGELES RAMS

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Adapted from SI.com

January 31, 2022