Super Bowl 56 live blog: Follow Rams-Bengals on Yahoo Sports

The Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals meet up Sunday in Super Bowl 56, a game that’s being live-streamed on the Yahoo Sports app. We’ll be following all the action live here on Yahoo Sports.

Cooper Kupp is your Super Bowl MVP

For a long spell on Sunday night, it felt like Cooper Kupp was being ignored by the Rams. Then he won the Super Bowl for them.

Kupp caught eight passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner for the Rams in their 23-20 Super Bowl victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Kupp made two big grabs in the first half. The first, a 20-yard catch and run on third down, set up Odell Beckham Jr.'s opening TD. Kupp's own TD came at the 12:51 mark of the second quarter, giving the Rams a 14-3 lead.

But Kupp dominated the fourth quarter, specifically the final five minutes.

After not touching the ball since the 8:40 mark of the third quarter, Kupp was called on to take a 4th-and-1 handoff with the Bengals leading, 23-16.

Kupp converted. Then he caught three passes — 8, 28 and 8 yards — to get the Rams in the red zone on the front side of the two-minute warning.

After drawing a (questionable) pass-interference call, Kupp appeared to catch. the go-ahead touchdown with 1:44 remaining, getting crunched on the would-be 4-yard catch.

But there were offsetting penalties. That TD was wiped out. After drawing another PI flag (this one more legitimate) brought the Rams to the Cincinnati 1, Stafford was stuffed. So instead of trying to jam in in with the run — a game-long blight — the Rams went back to their best play.

Stafford to Kupp. The MVP beat Eli Apple with leverage and was able to haul in Stafford's quick flick for the eventual game winner.

In Super Bowl LIII, Kupp was injured and could not play. On this night, he proved to be the difference down the stretch, following up with what arguably had been one of the best seasons by a receiver in recent years.

You can say it now: Cooper Kupp is a star.

- Eric Edholm

Aaron Donald and the Rams stop Joe Burrow and the Bengals

The Bengals found themselves down 23-20 with 1:25 remaining, 75 yards from the end zone.

The drive started out beautifully, with Ja'Marr Chase making a huge 17-yard catch and run and Tyler Boyd — after his huge third-down drop earlier — made a tough grab for 9 more yards, taking a big hit in the process.

But after an incomplete pass on 2nd and 1 and a third-down stuff following a run inside by Samaje Perine (who is not Joe Mixon), the Bengals needed to call timeout.

Fourth down. Super Bowl on the line.

Burrow dropped back, and Aaron Donald was in his lap almost immediately, having beaten Bengals left guard Quinton Spain badly.

Donald hit Burrow, whose fourth-down pass fell incomplete at the feet of Perine.

And that was it. The Rams have won Super Bowl LVI, 23-20.

Remember when Donald said he'd retire if the Rams won? Well, he just cashed his 401k with that pressure.

Burrow was good but not good enough on this day. The Bengals were in two-minute mode, which is why Perine stayed out there. But if we had a question for Zac Taylor, it would be why that was not Mixon on that drive.

The Rams' final offensive drive was the story of the game, traveling 79 yards on 15 fateful plays to take the lead for the first time since halftime. Matthew Stafford to Cooper Kupp for the win, Donald with the save.

That gave the Rams their second Super Bowl title. The Bengals are now 0-3 in the big game.

- Eric Edholm

Cooper Kupp catches go-ahead TD with 1:25 to go

The Rams took the lead with 1:25 to go on a one-yard TD pass from Matthew Stafford to Cooper Kupp. It was a back-shoulder throw in single coverage as Eli Apple was one-on-one with Kupp. The Rams lead 23-20.

The TD pass came two plays after Apple was flagged for pass interference on Kupp in the end zone and the ball was put a yard from the end zone. That was the second penalty on the Bengals defense at the end of the drive.

What can Joe Burrow and the Bengals do? We're about to find out.

— Nick Bromberg

Logan Wilson’s huge holding penalty

Logan Wilson broke up a pass intended for Cooper Kupp on third and goal but he was flagged for holding Kupp before the pass was thrown.

The penalty gave the Rams a first down at the four-yard-line instead of a fourth down from the eight. On the next play, Matthew Stafford hit Kupp for an apparent TD pass with 1:38 to go but there were offsetting penalties on the play. The Bengals still lead 20-16.

— Nick Bromberg

Kupp continues to be huge as Rams near end zone

The Rams are inside the Bengals 10 with 1:55 to go and Cincy clinging to a four-point lead. Each team has all three timeouts, so it’s likely that Cincinnati will prevent the Rams from running too much time off the clock before potentially scoring a go-ahead TD. You may remember that Cincy was in a similar situation near the end of the AFC title game against Kansas City.

The Rams have gotten near the end zone because of Cooper Kupp. He’s taken over for Los Angeles after that huge fourth down conversion. Cincinnati needs to bracket him wherever he goes from now on.

— Nick Bromberg

Rams get huge fourth down conversion

The Rams kept their drive alive after a fourth down run by Cooper Kupp with less than five minutes to go and trailing 20-16. Kupp took a handoff from Matthew Stafford while in motion and easily got a fourth and short as the Rams’ traditional running game is absolutely unsuccessful. Kupp is the Rams’ only real weapon at the moment with Cam Akers neutralized.

— Nick Bromberg

Joe Burrow limps off after another sack, Rams punt again

Joe Burrow appeared to get his right knee twisted underneath him as he was sacked for the seventh time with 11:46 to go in the game on a third down.

Burrow was able to hop off the field after he sat on the field and pointed at his knee. He immediately grabbed his knee in pain after he got twisted to the ground.

If Burrow wasn't able to the game he would be replaced by backup QB Brandon Allen. However, he didn't go into the injury tent and waved off trainers after getting to the sideline. And he came back into the game after the Rams went three-and-out after getting the ball back from Cincy.

- Nick Bromberg

Rams are really missing OBJ

The Rams are feeling the absence of Odell Beckham Jr. He’s on the sideline in street clothes after his left knee injury and the team’s offense has struggled without him on the field.

The Rams punted to the Bengals at the start of the fourth quarter after Joe Burrow was sacked twice on the Bengals’ previous drive.

Los Angeles is unable to run the football consistently. Couple that with Beckham, Robert Woods and Tyler Higbee all missing from the passing game and you have a Rams offense that needs someone to step up. And step up very soon. It's still 20-16 Cincinnati.

- Nick Bromberg

Joe Burrow has now been sacked a six pack

Burrow went down twice on the Bengals' final drive of the third quarter, bringing his Super Bowl sack total to six now.

You'll recall he was sacked nine times against the Titans, which is totally achievable in this game — and more perhaps.

If the Bengals want to increase their 20-16 lead, this is not the way. Even if, honestly, the Bengals' pass protection — all things considered — hasn't been horrific. (Really.)

- Eric Edholm

Matthew Stafford limping? Ruh roh

Matthew Stafford was sacked by Bengals nose tackle D.J. Reader late in the third quarter, and Stafford came up limping off the field as the Rams were forced to punt.

Then Stafford was being examined on the medical table on the Rams' sideline. It had to hurt when the 347-pound Reader landed on him. This is a big storyline, obviously, even if the Rams are only down 20-16.

Lost in all the pregame hoopla was the fact that Stafford dealt with myriad injuries this season, including a bad ankle.

The Rams backup? Glad you asked. It's John Wolford, who, you might remember, started the Rams' playoff win over the Seahawks a few years ago when Jared Goff was gimpy.

- Eric Edholm

Bengals punt it back to the Rams

Cincinnati went three-and-out after the Rams cut the lead to 20-16. Joe Burrow got sacked for the fourth time on the drive and the Rams took over just short of midfield with 4:30 to go in the third quarter.

The Rams defensive line has gotten to Burrow at times, but he’s also been able to escape pressure too. Forcing Burrow to take sacks and make hurried throws the rest of the game will be key for the Rams if they want to retake the lead.

- Nick Bromberg

Rams cut Bengals' lead to four after Cooper Kupp's incomplete pass

The Rams tried to have Cooper Kupp throw. to a wide-open Matthew Stafford on third down in Bengals territory. and it didn't work.

Kupp sailed the pass of Stafford's head and the Rams had to settle for a 41-yard field goal by Matt Gay to cut Cincinnati's lead to 20-16.

The Rams had been moving the ball before the trick play, but a two-yard loss on a 2nd and 3 run play led to Sean McVay dialing up the misdirection. Odell Beckham Jr. is not likely to return to the game for the Rams after his left knee injury, so the Rams need someone to step up in his place.

- Nick Bromberg

Bengals take a 7-point lead, early third

Evan McPherson's cool might be second only to Joe Burrow on the Bengals.

The rookie kicker has been absolute money this season, but especially in the playoffs, where he's a perfect 14 of 14 on field-goal tries, extending that mark with a 38-yard kick to give Cincinnati a 20-13 lead.

The Bengals' offense bogged down after the Awuzie interception, but McPherson picked them up with another three points, his second field goal of the Super Bowl.

Oh, and McPherson wasn't about to miss the halftime show.

Hey, he made the kick! After all, what is a kicker going to do in the locker room?

Bengals dominate first 22 seconds of the second half

What were we saying about the start of the half?

On the Rams' first offensive play of the third quarter, Matthew Stafford's first pass was dropped by Ben Skowronek — who is replacing the injured Odell Beckham Jr. — and right into the hands of the Bengals' Chidobe Awuzie, who ran it back to the Los Angeles 31-yard line.

Uncle Mo is now in the building. The Bengals know him well this time of the game.

Twenty two seconds into the second half, it's all Bengals.

- Eric Edholm

Bengals go deep on first play of second half, and we have controversy

Twelve seconds, 75 yards, touchdown.

The halftime show was a banger, but the third-quarter start is threatening to upstage it. Joe Burrow fired deep on the first play from scrimmage in the second half, hitting Tee Higgins on a 75-yard score.

The Bengals are not shying away from going after the Rams' Jalen Ramsey, who was in coverage and fell down on the play. Or ... dd Higgins get away with an offensive pass interference?

Either way, it's 17-13, Bengals now.

Excitement meets controversy. Big start to the second half. Hope you got your eating done in time.

- Eric Edholm

Mill

Halftime show opens with Next Episode

Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg opened halftime with "Next Episode." The song was favored by many sportsbooks as the song to start the show. The duo then transitioned into "California Love" before 50 Cent took the stage.

The show also featured Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar and ended with Still D.R.E. It was a performance that made many of us who grew up in the late 1990s and early 2000s that we are now full-fledged adults and no longer the students who bought these artists' CDs and downloaded their songs via Napster on 56K dialup connections.

- Nick Bromberg

Halftime score: Rams 13, Bengals 10

The Bengals and Rams traded punts after the interception in the end zone ahead of the two-minute warning.

The biggest question ahead of the second half is the status of Odell Beckham Jr. after his left knee injury in the second quarter. Beckham has been phenomenal for the Rams since they signed him and a huge contributor in the playoffs. His potential absence will force the Rams to adjust — and the Bengals to worry about one fewer playmaker on the outside — over the final 30 minutes.

With the over/under at 48.5 points, a 23-point first half means the game is trending to be very close to the total. The Rams were favored by 4.5 points at kickoff. Cincinnati will get the ball to start the second half.

- Nick Bromberg

OBJ suffers left knee injury, Rams turn it over

Odell Beckham Jr. grabbed his left knee in pain as he turned to catch a pass in the second quarter.

Beckham was able to walk off the field after he was tended to by the Rams’ athletic training staff, but he clearly knew something was wrong right away after he took a step with his left knee.

Beckham tore the ACL in his left knee during the 2020 season while with the Cleveland Browns. He was taken to the injury tent on the sideline after the injury before he went to the locker room. The Rams said shortly before halftime that he was questionable to return.

That Rams drive ended with a Matthew Stafford interception into the end zone. The Bengals will take over at the 2-minute warning trailing 13-10.

- Nick Bromberg

Bengals cut into the lead with some trickeration

Trailing by 10, the Bengals went on a methodical drive — that is, until the scoring play.

Alternative headline: Someone other than Joe Burrow threw a pass in the Super Bowl!

How about Zac Taylor breaking out the halfback option pass with Joe Mixon? It looked like the Bengals' typical toss sweep play, but Mixon widened his angle and found a wide-open Tee Higgins in the back of the end zone, cutting the Rams' lead to 13-10 now.

After a slowish start, the Super Bowl is now off and running.

Oh, and Mixon's last TD pass in a real game? It came back in 2016 when he was at Oklahoma, in a win over Kansas State.

Taylor has called on non-QBs such as Tyler Boyd (and Alex Erickson) to throw passes in his three years as Bengals coach, but this was the first time Mixon has attempted a throw in a game. Nice little Super Bowl wrinkle there by the coach.

Mixon is up to 40 yards rushing, has three receptions and now has a 6-yard TD pass. There was somme game MVP buzz for him late in the week. Maybe the sharps knew.

- Eric Edholm

Cooper Kupp gives Rams a 13-3 lead

The Rams are having success against the Bengals through the air so far. Cooper Kupp had the third big reception of the Rams' drive following the Bengals' field goal to put LA up 10.

Kupp's catch came after Odell Beckham Jr. and Darrell Henderson each had long receptions for the Rams on the drive. Beckham has found success early against the Bengals' defense as his two catches have gone for 52 yards.

If you're a Bengals fan, you can take solace in the fact that Cincinnati made some fantastic adjustments in the second half against Kansas City's passing offense and shut the Chiefs down. But another double-digit deficit isn't too comforting.

In case you were wondering why the lead is not 14-3, it's because the hold was dropped by Johnny Hekker on the extra point snap.

- Nick Bromberg

Bengals get a field goal after Ja'Marr Chase's great catch

Ja'Marr Chase had an amazing catch against Jalen Ramsey in single coverage to get the Bengals inside the red zone. Joe Burrow trusted his former college teammate to go beat Ramsey and make a play and he sure did.

The Bengals had to settle for a field goal, however, after three consecutive incompletions. The recent trend of low-scoring Super Bowl first quarters continues as the Rams led 7-3 at the conclusion of the first period.

- Nick Bromberg

Rams stop Bengals and then punt it back

The Bengals couldn't counter the OBJ touchdown and were forced to punt after Joe Burrow overthrew Chris Evans on third down.

The Rams then didn't do much with their drive and punted the ball back to the Bengals. It's worth noting that first quarters in the Super Bowl aren't typically that high-scoring. The most combined points in any first quarter of the Super Bowl in the last 10 years is 12. Two of the previous five Super Bowls entering Sunday night had a scoreless first quarter.

- Nick Bromberg

Odell Beckham Jr. scores in the Super Bowl!

A few months ago, Beckham was miserable in Cleveland. Now he's thriving in L.A.

Beckham's late-season flourish has been a big reason why the Rams are in Super Bowl LVI, and he's the reason why the Rams take the opening lead.

Matthew Stafford IDed man coverage and had Beckham singled up against the Bengals' Mike Hilton. Stafford arced a gorgeous pass in a spot where only Beckham could snag it — and that he did.

It's 7-zip, Rams. The Bengals paid for their fourth-down failure on offense, followed by Jessie Bates III's missed tackle on Cooper Kupp on third down.

Then Beckham scorched the Bengals.

He had five TDs in his eight regular-season games with the Rams, and that's now two more in the playoffs, for a grand total of seven with L.A.

His total in two-plus years with Cleveland? Yep, also seven.

- Eric Edholm

Worst opening drive for Rams, close to best for Bengals defense

The Rams have had 20 opening drives prior to Sunday this season, counting playoffs and regular-season games.

None gained fewer than the 1 they achieved in Super Bowl LVI.

Yes, they got a first down. But the sack and tackle for loss pushed it below the 4-yard opening drive they mustered in the road win over the Cardinals.

The Bengals only once allowed fewer than 1 yard on an opening drive in their 20 games this season — a minus-2 effort in their game at home against the 49ers.

Of course, the Rams' defense did its job on the opening series, forcing a fourth-down stop.

Game. On.

- Eric Edholm

Rams get a first down, quickly punt

The Rams got a first down on two plays and then went backward. Matthew Stafford was sacked on second down and a third-down pass fell incomplete. The Bengals take over at their own 44 for their first possession of the game. 

The sack was by Trey Hendrickson. The former New Orleans Saints edge rusher has been one of the most consequential free-agent acquisitions of the 2021 season.

- Nick Bromberg

The Rock gets things going, kickoff is a touchback

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson did an on-field introduction for both teams as they waited for the kickoff. The wait must have been interminable for the 22 players on the field.

The opening kickoff by the Bengals' Evan McPherson was a touchback. That's important for some betting purposes.

- Nick Bromberg

Opening coin toss lands on heads again, Bengals defer

Billie Jean King flipped the coin for the opening coin toss. The Rams' Matthew Stafford called tails as the Rams' only captain. The coin landed on heads for the fourth time in five Super Bowls. Cincinnati's captains Joe Burrow, Vonn Bell, Joe Mixon and Kevin Huber deferred to the second half.

The Bengals will kick off to the Rams. Let's roll.

- Nick Bromberg

You're a winner if you bet the national anthem over

Shortly after the teams took the field, pregame ceremonies began. Rams offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth was honored as the Walter Payton Man of the Year before Jhene Aiko sang "America the Beautiful."

Aiko was followed by Mickey Guyton's rendition of the national anthem.

If you were betting on the length of Guyton's anthem, it went over the over/under at most sportsbooks at just over 1:50.

- Nick Bromberg

Super Bowl LVI inactives

Well, folks we've made it. Most of us, anyway.

There will be some players for the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals who might be on hand Sunday at SoFi Stadium but won't play.

Here are the inactives for the two teams, starting with the Rams (who are technically the "road" team despite playing in their home stadium):

Two names you won't see who also are not playing — TE Tyler Higbee and OL Joe Noteboom — were placed on injured reserve. RB Darrell Henderson and DT Sebastian Joseph-Day, who were activated in their place, will be active.

And here are the Bengals' inactives:

Not many shocks here. TE C.J. Uzomah, who sprained his MCL in the AFC championship game, sat out Wednesday’s practice but received limited work on Thursday and was a full participation on Friday, so he's good to go.

— Eric Edholm

Joe Burrow's pre-game fit: Yea or nay?

So here's how Burrow arrived to SoFi Stadium. How are we feeling about this?

Here's how it looks on the move:

It's quite ... snug. It's very ... grey? We need your feedback here. We've run out of things to say about it without getting too personal.

— Eric Edholm

Super Bowl-record heat?

Well, it'll be 3:30 p.m. on the West Coast when the ball is kicked off, and it's warm.

Perhaps Super Bowl-record warm even.

The temperatures have been in the low 80s for pregame warmups, which puts it close to the hottest kickoff temperature ever — 84 degrees for Super Bowl VII, which also was in Los Angeles.

Only twice before has it ever been north of 80 degrees, which appears to be a lock to make it three on Sunday.

Here are the rest of the warmest open-air Super Bowl kickoff temps ever:

This season, the Bengals' Week 1 kickoff temperature was 84 degrees in a 27-24 win over the Vikings. It was 81 the next week at Chicago, a 20-17 loss against the Bears. They also had an 80-degree kickoff in the OT loss to the Packers.

The Rams dealt with 89 degrees at kickoff in a home loss to the Cardinals but had no other 80-plus games this season.

— Eric Edholm