Super Bowl 2022: Six combined appearances for Rams and Bengals, but only one title -- and it was by inches
![Titans wide receiver Kevin Dyson tries but fails to get...](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3AZjIyMGQwNGMtNzZhYS00%3ANGMtNzZhYS00NzkwNWM0%2Fspsbpast220213.jpg%3Ff%3DLandscape%2B16%253A9%26w%3D770%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)
Titans wide receiver Kevin Dyson tries but fails to get the ball into the end zone as he is tackled by the Rams' Mike Jones on the final play of Super Bowl XXXIV on Jan. 30, 2000, in Atlanta. Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS/JOHN GAPS III
The Rams and Bengals have appeared in a combined six Super Bowls, but their only victory was in Super Bowl XXXIV when the Rams defeated the Tenneese Titans.
A recap:
XXXIV: Rams 23, Titans 16
Jan. 30, 2000, Georgia Dome, Atlanta
The Rams had one of the most explosive offenses the NFL had ever seen and a pretty cool nickname: "The Greatest Show on Turf." Yet it took a tremendous defensive play to win their only Super Bowl.
The game ended with linebacker Mike Jones tackling Titans receiver Kevin Dyson just short of the goal line as time ran out. The lasting image is of Dyson trying to reach the ball into the end zone with Jones wrapping him up.
Kurt Warner, a former grocery store checker, completed a storybook season by winning the Super Bowl MVP. He threw for a then-Super Bowl record 414 yards and two TDs.
The Rams led 16-0 late in the third quarter, but the Titans scored 16 unanswered points, tying it on Al Del Greco’s 43-yard field goal with 2:12 left.
It wasn’t tied for long. On first down, Issac Bruce caught Warner's deep pass and ran in for the 73-yard TD with 1:54 to go.
The Titans mounted a drive and got to a first-and-goal situation from the 10 with five seconds remaining. Dyson ran a slant and Steve McNair delivered the ball, but Jones made the clinching stop.
XIV: Steelers 31, Rams 19
Jan. 20, 1980, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.
It was a tight game before the heavily favored Steelers scored 14 fourth-quarter points and became the first team to win four Super Bowls.
The Rams led 19-17 in the third after running back Lawrence McCutcheon’s 24-yard TD pass to Ron Smith, but Terry Bradshaw and the legendary "Steel Curtain" defense took it from there.
Bradshaw, who won his second MVP, connected with John Stallworth on a 73-yard TD early in the fourth quarter to give Pittsburgh the lead for good. Two series later, Jack Lambert picked off Vince Ferragamo with 5:24 left and Pittsburgh turned it into a Franco Harris 1-yard TD run with 1:54 to go.
XVI: 49ers 26, Bengals 21
Jan. 24, 1982, Silverdome, Pontiac, Mich.
Joe Montana won the first of his three Super Bowl MVP awards after throwing and running for a TD. The Bengals, who trailed 20-0 at halftime, had four turnovers -- all leading to 49ers’ points.
The Bengals closed to 20-14 in the fourth on Ken Anderson’s TD pass to Ken Ross. But Ray Wersching kicked field goals (he made four in the game) on back-to-back series. An Anderson interception set up Wersching’s last kick with 1:57 left.
Anderson and Ross hooked up for another TD with 20 seconds to go, but the onsides kick was recovered by the 49ers.
XXIII: 49ers 20, Bengals 16
Jan. 22, 1989, Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami
The 49ers won their third Super Bowl in eight years thanks to a brilliant Montana-led 92-yard game-winning drive. Cincinnati led 16-13 after Jim Breech’s 40-yard field goal with 3:20 left. A 49ers’ penalty on the kickoff pushed them back to the 8-yard line with 3:10 remaining. Montana wasn’t worried. In the huddle he pointed into the crowd and said, "Hey, isn’t that John Candy?" Montana was trying to relax everyone. He completed 8-of-9 passes on the 11-play drive, capped by a10-yard TD pass to John Taylor with 34 seconds left.
XXXVI: Patriots 20, Rams 17
Feb. 3, 2002, Superdome, New Orleans
Rams receiver Ricky Proehl looked in the camera before the game and said, "Tonight a dynasty is born, baby." He was right – the Patriots’ dynasty.
Tom Brady led a two-minute drive and Adam Vinatieri drilled a walk-off 48-yard field goal to lift the Patriots to the first of their six Super Bowl titles.
The Rams, 14-2 in the regular season, had the No. 1 offense and were 14-point favorites. Yet the Patriots kept L.A. out of the end zone until the fourth quarter.
Warner's TD pass to Proehl tied it with 1:51 left setting up the Patriots' winning drive.
LIII: Patriots 13, Rams 3
Feb. 3, 2019, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
The Patriots held the No. 2 offense without a TD in the lowest-scoring Super Bowl. It was tied 3-3 in the fourth. Sony Michel had the only TD -- a 2-yard run with 7:03 left. Brady completed two passes with Rob Gronkowski covering 47 yards on the drive.
On the next series, the Rams drove into Patriots’ territory, but Stephon Gilmore intercepted Jared Goff at the New England 4-yard line with 4:17 remaining. Stephen Gostkowski’s 41-yard field goal with 1:12 to go put it away.
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