Super Bowl 56

Raphael, y10

2 weeks after the Super Bowl 56, we can finally look back at the competition unbiased.

For those not familiar with American Football, here is a quick overview of the 60 minute, 4 quarter game.

The objective of the game is to score the most points, and you do that by three ways. You can firstly score a touchdown (try), worth 6 points. Then you have an impending choice. You can either replay, and try to get into the End Zone to get another touchdown, this time worth 2 points. Or you can kick the ball in (conversion) for the extra point. We shall get to the other forms of scoring later.

The main difference between rugby and American Football is that in the latter you have one chance to throw the ball upfield (the field is a 100 yards long) behind the line of scrimmage (where the play starts). After you catch the ball, receivers are able to throw the ball back as many time as they want. Therefore essentially after the forward pass, the receivers try to get a touchdown.

The attacking team and defending team each have 11 players on the field. The most important for the attacking team are the Quarterback, which throws the ball (the conductor); the Running Back, which rund the ball; and the Wide Receivers, which receive the ball. The offensive team has 4 chances to advance 10 yards upfield. If they do not get there by 4 tries, the defending team can switch on their offensive team, and start where the last play occurred. Therefore sometimes the attacking team decides to punt, so the defending team will have to start further back. Or if they are close enough, to kick the ball (conversion), for 3 points.

Some main points to know here is that there is no fixed formation both teams have to follow. Like Soccer, the teams can adjust the number of players playing the same role (receiving, running…) to their own choice.

The defending team then will try to intercept or block the person trying to throw or catch the ball.

The Quarterback is the most important position, as the player must communicate with the receivers on where they should go, and what should they be looking for.

This was then a huge battle, since the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals Quarterbacks were both former number one picks. On one side the Rams have gone to the Super Bowl 3 years ago, but not won one since 1999, when their pass-first, offensive system had the league in shock and they were rightfully named “the Greatest Show on Turf”. On the other side, was a cursed team. The Bengals who have not won a single playoff game for more than 30 years, led by a young core, but lacked defensive capability. Yet they were shown to be warriors and fighters which could rise to the occasion.

The stage was set.

The Rams, led by QB Matthew Stafford, came out the gates slow and had to then punt the ball away.

The Bengals then started with their usual “Shotgun” formation, which meant that the Quarterback, Joe Burrow, would hike the ball further away (meaning that the offensive lineman that held the ball and would toss the ball back and stop the defensive lineman from tackling the quarterback was farther away). This creates more opportunities to throw, but on the flip side, seeing as to the Rams had a good defensive team, Burrow had throw fast. This was presently hard, as both teams started off slow, and therefore the Bengals unable to gain 10 yards in 4 tries and turned the ball over on downs. (4th down is your last try; 4th down and 1 means you have one attempt to gain 1 yard to restart the downs system)

The Rams then set up the Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp, and famed receiver Odell Beckham Jr., to split the defenders, and they scored. The Bengals defense wasn’t as good and found it hard to cover two superstars.

After more punts and a field goal by the Bengals, the game was 7-3, and the first quarter ended.

The Rams came out of the gates hot, and again, confused the Bengals defense and an easy touchdown was scored, but the Bengals had hope, as the Rams hoped to get the extra point but messed up instead, making the game 13-3. Joe Burrow and then silenced the LA crowd, by marching down the field, and near the End Zone, gave the ball to Running Back Joe Mixon, who instead of running it in, threw the ball for a touchdown.

This is a prime example of the forward throw rule, as Mixon caught the ball from a backwards pass from Burrow, therefore he was able to throw forwards.

Throughout the game, we see both teams utilizing the shotgun position, or five receivers, five linemen, and one quarterback far back. One such play is the Overload, where all five receivers slant towards one direction (left or right) for short gains, or where four receivers go deep for a deep pass. Such a formation, alongside the spread, can allow for such different passes because of the quarterback being back, and so the linemen can drop back to form a protective oval shape to protect the QB.

This is evident from the next drive, as the Rams try to throw the ball, and so Stafford rolled out but was unable to find anyone, as in thrown deep and the ball was intercepted.

Why did the offense collapse? A few minutes earlier, Beckham Jr. suffered a non-contact injury and was replaced. Now with the defense closing in on Kupp, there were no other options.

Both teams had the halftime break to figure this out.

Next week I’ll cover a summary and analysis of the second half, and how the Rams won...