Pressure is mounting for Rams to beat Bengals, reach Super Bowl summit | Opinion
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Super Team. Super Bowl. Super Pressure.
That may aptly sum up the situation for the Los Angeles Rams as Super Bowl 56 looms.
I mean, a few weeks ago, who would have imagined that the Cincinnati Bengals would have stood a chance of invading SoFi Stadium and seizing the Lombardi Trophy?
Yet for the Rams, this has for many months seemed like a Super Bowl-or-bust mission.
Remember, they have been “all-in” for the purpose of taking it a step further and making it rain blue and gold confetti in their home stadium.
Enter Matthew Stafford. And Von Miller. And Odell Beckham Jr. They were added this season to an already-impressive cast that includes Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp and Jalen Ramsey.
And now they are here. Expected to seize the moment after making so many of the right moves.
Pressure’s on you, L.A.
“Truth is, you can put a lot of great players together and it doesn’t mean you’re going to win,” Andrew Whitworth told reporters during the final media session on Friday. “It doesn’t mean they are going to make the exact plays when they need to. It’s so hard to win in this league, regardless of the players you have. That’s why you can’t put ‘super teams’ together.”
But the Rams will die trying.
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Whitworth, the 40-year-old left tackle and elder statesman for the Rams, knows the history. So-called “super teams” have been assembled before. And usually, they wind up flopping.
Then again, in L.A.’s current situation, the Rams are so close to the grand plans coming to fruition after extinguishing one threat after another during the playoffs – including overcoming a double-digit deficit against the dreaded rival San Francisco 49ers in the NFC title game.
“Regardless, if people thought we added all of these guys, they still had to perform to make those plays,” Whitworth added. “So, to be in this moment, that’s what you take from it. We’ve been able to find ways to make those plays. And we have to do it again on Sunday if we want to win.”
Following Friday’s light practice, I asked Rams coach Sean McVay – who after losing to the Patriots in the Super Bowl three years concluded that he was “outcoached” by Bill Belichick – whether he was getting worked over by his nerves with the game roughly 48 hours away.
“I don’t know until it gets closer,” McVay said.
“Here’s what I’d say: The players, the stillness, the calmness that they have, the confidence in their preparation, I feel really good. I’m excited to be able to go watch these guys compete to the best of their ability. As coaches, we’ll try to be poised, make good decisions and that’s all we’re going to do. And we’re going to enjoy this moment.”
Especially if it all works out for a team that oddsmakers have installed as a 4-point favorite to become the second consecutive team (and second ever) to win a Super Bowl in their home stadium.
It’s almost as if Hollywood scripted this. The Rams entered the playoffs as a fourth seed yet wound up hosting the NFC championship game. And now, whatever visions that Rams owner Stan Kroenke had of his team reaching the Super Bowl in the $5 billion palace that he built have come to life.
Lights. Camera. Action.
Ramsey, the All-Pro cornerback, seemed unfazed about the prospect of extra pressure.
“Not me, personally,” Ramsey said. “I try to stay grounded. I’ve got God to lean on, my family, my support system, my teammates, to keep me even throughout the week.
“It is what it is,” he added. “I’m playing a kid’s game, professionally. So, I should be happy about it. I shouldn’t be anxious or worried about anything. That’s how I think about it.”
Still, the magnitude of the game is obvious. Players and coaches spend their entire careers chasing the opportunity to become a Super Bowl champion. Beckham, who came aboard in late October after getting the controversial release he sought from the Cleveland Browns, embraces the pressure.
What’s the process of mentally preparing for Super Bowl 56?
“It’s the exact as it has been the past couple of weeks,” Beckham said. “You try to make the big games small. You try not to make the game too big in the head and know that you were born for this moment, this exact opportunity that you have.”
It was striking to hear Beckham describe a moment shortly after SoFi Stadium opened in 2020, when he attended an event to celebrate a major award for Drake, the megastar artist. Someone asked Beckham, he recalled, whether he wanted to take a stroll on the field.
His response that night: “Nah, I don’t want to go down on the field until I play in a Super Bowl.”
Now it seems prophetic.
“Little did I know that I was going to be playing for the Rams in that Super Bowl in Los Angeles,” Beckham said. “So, this all feels kind of surreal to me. And the ups and downs have truly prepared me to be happy with where I’m at today and to know that everything I went through was for a reason.”
Just a guess: That reason wasn’t to lose in that L.A. Super Bowl.
Follow Paste BN Sports' Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.