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Alright, upfront I will say that the Bengals were in an excellent position to win the game, but obviously you could also argue that they may have been blown out if OBJ hadn't gotten hurt, or OPI had been called against Tee Higgins for his subtle ripping of Jalen Ramsey's head to the side (bet Michael Irvin smiled just a bit watching that play). Going down the "Bengals were this close" rabbit hole, I think you could point to five solid reasons why the Bengals watched the Rams get to hold the Lombardi trophy.
1) Joe Burrow started the game showing just a bit of jitters.
There were a couple of misreads that Burrow made in that first series in particular, where he might have focused on JaMarr Chase just a tad too much. Don't get me wrong, if you are going to focus on a WR, Chase is a damn good choice, but being tight in that drive may have cost them a chance to take the lead in a game where it became apparent early that points were going to be tough sledding. Fortunately, Burrow did seem to get his groove back, at least as much as he could.
2) Zac Taylor might have been just a bit too conservative, especially over the last 2 1/2 quarters
Now I hesitate to mention this because, for the most part, I thought Zac Taylor out-coached Sean McVey in this game. Taylor was faced with an unenviable task; trying to block a Rams defensive line that had it's way with the Bengals for the latter half of the game. In an earlier article, I mentioned how Jeffrey Simmons ate the O-line's lunch in that game against the Titans; the one thing that makes Aaron Donald the highest rated defensive lineman according to PFF over the last 7 years is how quickly he is on top of the quarterback once he beats his guy. Taylor was faced with the dilemma of letting his star QB try to make a play, but possibly get destroyed out there, or attempt to dink and dunk his way down the field. Burrow has made some amazing reads and plays over this off-season, and I'm sure that, looking back, Taylor will wonder what if he let Burrow be Burrow just a bit more.
3) Matthew Stafford didn't let his mistakes kill him, and made plays when it really counted.
Notice nobody was arguing at the end of the game how Stafford was robbed of an MVP; in many ways, it was a line very typical for Stafford. Fortunately, his mistakes didn't cause the amount of damage we've seen Stafford mistakes inflict over the years, and he finally started focusing on Cooper Kupp on that last drive. The way Kupp runs routes, blocks and manages to get open and evade tacklers is kind of like Edelman on steroids; that catch for the touchdown, where he got Eli Apple to take the bait and lean inside just enough to give Stafford a clean look was a thing of beauty, and gave the Rams the margin they needed to win. Hats off to Stafford for delivering the ball in crunch time and getting the gorilla off his back.
4) Don't go pissing Aaron Donald off
There was a play in the 2nd quarter, where Donald pushed Burrow out of bounds; now it was a hard, but legal push, but the Bengals decided that was the time to get in his face rather than at the line of scrimmage. Up to that point, the Bengals were somewhat successful rolling protection from their center to double Donald, giving Burrow just enough time to make a few throws. From that moment on, Donald played like a man possessed, and was in the face of Burrow the rest of the game. Yeah, Burrow made a few plays, but every time the Bengals started to look efficient, No. 99 managed to break through and disrupt the play....which leads to the final point.
5) Aaron Donald is quite possibly the best DT to ever play the game.
I watched Warren Sapp play virtually every snap of his Bucs career, and he is one of the greatest to ever play the game; even Warren Sapp said that Aaron Donald consistently does things that Sapp couldn't even dream about. Critics of Aaron Donald may say he overshoots the run sometimes, and can be run over by the bigger guards and heavier backs; ok, maybe so, but isn't that what you pay linebackers to take care of? Aaron Donald, even being on the smaller side, can't be pass blocked one on one by anyone in the NFL; he simply is so good technique-wise, that if you are even a bit off-balance, he will hit the shoulder, swim and go around you. That or he is strong enough to bullrush, and on top of all that, is quick enough to be on top of the QB before you see him complete his move. Look, Cooper Kupp is an amazing WR, and can probably argue with Devante Adams and Stefan Diggs as to being the best in the league right now, but there has been no one for the last 7 years that can even make an argument that someone other than Donald is the best at what he does, probably of all time, from an interior DT. Donald should have been MVP, and in many ways, this game was a coronation of his career. Regardless of what he does going forward, Aaron Donald truly put the Rams on his back when they needed him most, and earned that elusive ring.
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