LONG video, but let’s be honest, it’s the Monday after the Super Bowl, it’s Valentine’s Day, you’re not trying to do too much at work anyway*. It’s a worthwhile watch whenever you get a free 40 minutes and it only cements what I already felt going into the Super Bowl: I wouldn’t mind seeing Matthew Stafford win a Super Bowl.
And in all honesty, I think casual NFL fans would have been more than fine with either outcome last night. We were Rob Lowe circa the 2019 NFC Championship Game:
If Cincy wins, great, we all love Joe Burrow, a tortured fan base gets to celebrate their first Super Bowl title. If the Rams win, great, Matthew Stafford gets a ring after languishing in Detroit for a decade.
It turns out the latter happened, but what a game to cap an extraordinary playoff run for the NFL. The Divisional Round through yesterday was game after game of back-and-forth matchups. It looked like the Rams were going to run away with it early, then OBJ goes down, the Bengals go touchdown and then interception on the first two plays of the second half, the Rams put together a 15 play drive for the go-ahead score, Aaron Donald takes over late and helps stop the Bengals at mid-field on 4th and 1. Really kind of felt like we were headed to overtime which would have been the cherry on top, but still, tremendously entertaining game. A few things:
- I know Bengals fans fired up about that penalty on 3rd and goal during the go-ahead touchdown drive, but you also have to acknowledge that Tee Higgins got away with CLEAR offensive pass interference on the touchdown play to open the second half. Obviously a bummer call for everyone watching because if the referees holster their flags it sets up a do-or-die 4th and goal at the 8 yard line, but it is what it is. It’s not an NFL game until the refs insert themselves into big moments.
- All I hear about Jalen Ramsey is how he’s the best corner in the league and all I ever see when I watch a Rams game is him giving up touchdowns.
- As someone who bet Rams moneyline, Sean McVay was KILLING me with those run calls in the second half. Rams run the ball for 1 yard, Sean McVay:
- Happiest person on the planet might be Rams holder/punter Johnny Hecker. Bobbling the snap and botching an extra point did not come back to bite him. Sheesh.
- I know Aaron Donald has a trophy case filled with DPOY awards, but I never realized how dominant he is until last night. Straight up owned the second half of that game.
- As the proud owner of Cooper Kupp in fantasy this season, I also felt great for him getting a title and the Super Bowl MVP. Add that the list of accomplishments he’s had this year, including leading team Half Chubb to a fantasy title.
- Acknowledging there’s always the, ‘well Dan Marino thought he’d be back to the Super Bowl too,’ component the following statement: Feel bad for Cincinnati, but Joe Burrow will be back. He’s too good, and that receiving core is too good and too young to not make a few more runs. They need to retool that offensive line (or just get it healthy), but it feels like the AFC North is going to be their division for foreseeable future.
Now the halftime show. This made me laugh:
Look if you didn’t like the show, you didn’t like the show. That’s fine. But I thought it was on the money. I also belong to the age demo most likely to enjoy it: 30-45. All of those songs whisked me back to a dirty basement in Stevens Point, baggy jeans and Vans on, sipping on a clear plastic cup of Natty Ice. Straight nostalgia trip.
Related: It’s okay to not like the genre of music but acknowledge that the halftime show was still well put together. That’s an okay take to have. Everything doesn’t have to be either the worst or the best. Food for thought.
And finally, commercials. As has been the case for MANY years, most of these have been tamed way the hell down from what they were back in the day. My favorite is maybe a little niche because “Curb Your Enthusiasm” is one of my favorite shows of all time, but I enjoyed the Larry David FTX commercial:
‘The people shall have the right to vote!’ ‘Even the stupid ones??’ Gold, Jerry, gold!
The vaunted USA Today Ad Meter, which purports to use some kind of algorithm but in reality probably ranks the commercials based on what their interns enjoyed, had this commercial as #1:
Loved it. I literally laughed out loud at the Castle Grayskull reference.
Otherwise I liked the Paul Rudd/Seth Rogen Lay’s commercial, Robodog was cute af, and the Flamin’ Hot Doritos was solid. Can never go wrong with an animated sloth.
Overall, great game, great halftime show, meh commercials. We’ll take it!
*Says the guy who blogs on the internet for a living.
PS: Got off to a HOT start by betting the under on the anthem and tails never fails. Two losses in the first 75 seconds of the broadcast. Not ideal! But bounced back with ‘Still D.R.E.’ as the first halftime show song, over on 7 punts, Rams moneyline, and the real kicker of the night: Blue Gatorade. +400 on blue Gatorade! WHOOOOOOO!
Double PS: Matthew Stafford is a Hall of Famer after last night. He was borderline anyway with the numbers he’s put up in his career, but getting a ring seals it. Honest question though, what’s the bigger achievement: A Super Bowl ring, or getting the Lions to the playoffs three times?
