Ultimately, the stars won it for Los Angeles. Wide receiver (and game MVP) Cooper Kupp was uncoverable on the Rams' go-ahead touchdown drive. Defensive tackle Aaron Donald took down Joe Burrow to seal L.A.'s 23-20 victory. It just goes to show how much a difference those players make in the clutch. Stars win games. The Ravens were missing their biggest star, Lamar Jackson, and stumbled down the stretch. Baltimore will hope Jackson can lead them to next year's Super Bowl in Arizona.

Jackson’s pregame pick to win was the Rams. He cited their mix of veterans as being a key ingredient. Matthew Stafford won his first Super Bowl in his 13th season after more than a decade of turmoil in Detroit. Jackson is in a much more favorable situation in Baltimore, where the Ravens are almost always in contention. He still has a lot of time to win one.

If there was ever a display of the importance of strong pass protection, the past two Super Bowls have been clinics. Patrick Mahomes was dogged last year and Burrow was sacked times this year. Burrow went down a record 19 times in the postseason, the most (by far) of any quarterback in the past 20 years. The Ravens have made it clear that beefing up their offensive line is a priority this offseason, and watching the Super Bowl only made it clearer.

The Rams are getting kudos for their all-in strategy after trading for Matthew Stafford in the offseason, trading for Von Miller at the deadline, and signing Odell Beckham Jr. They also gave up major picks a couple years ago for Jalen Ramsey. The Rams mortgaged the future (they will go seven years without a first-round pick) to make a run at the Super Bowl and they got it. The Ravens are not a team that will go that far, as Eric DeCosta made clear at his season-ending press conference. DeCosta has been aggressive at the deadline the past three years, but it has to all work out financially and he has not shown a willingness to give up first-round picks. DeCosta got Marcus Peters in 2019, Yannick Ngakoue in 2020 and said he was looking to make trades last offseason (there were reports of interest in Xavien Howard) but didn't have enough money to pull it off.

When the Rams failed to convert an extra point in the second quarter when punter Johnny Hekker fumbled the snap on an extra point. It was almost quite costly, as the Rams trailed by four points instead of three on their final offensive drive. They had to get a touchdown to win, instead of having the option of kicking a field goal for overtime. It's just a reminder of how important Sam Koch is to the Ravens. Former Ravens special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg called Koch "the greatest holder that has ever played the game..)"

With the Rams looking to get younger on their defensive line this offseason, one thought is to shift resources away from the big run-stuffing nose tackles and focus on getting interior linemen who provide more pass rush. After all, it's a passing league. The Ravens finished the year atop the league in run defense and will never be a team that loses its pride in winning the physical battle up front. The Bengals' run defense made it hard on the Rams' high-powered offense by completely shutting down the run (43 yards on 23 carries). That took Matthew Stafford and the offense out of their prized play-action passing, making them one-dimensional. Ultimately, the Stafford-Kupp combo just proved to be unstoppable, but the Rams offense was dragging for a while.

The prevailing thought is that Burrow and the Bengals will be back in the Super Bowl in the not-so-distant future. Burrow is a star and he has young playmakers all around him. Plus, Cincinnati has the salary-cap space to address its offensive line and other needs. But don't tell Dan Marino that it's a guarantee. Marino also went to the Super Bowl in his second year and lost. He never got back despite having a Hall of Fame career. Only eight times in 56 years has a team that lost the Super Bowl returned to play in it again the next year.

Marlon Humphrey did the media cycle during his trip to Super Bowl LVI but unfortunately fielded numerous questions about getting "cooked" by Bengals rookie wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase. Chase took home Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and showed in the Super Bowl that Humphrey is far from the only elite cornerback who has trouble covering him. The Rams' Jalen Ramsey had issues with Chase on several occasions, as the rookie wideout caught five passes for 89 yards. Ramsey also got beat by Tee Higgins (thought it should have been wiped out by penalty) for a 75-yard touchdown.

Eric Weddle is amazing. The former Raven came out of retirement just more than a month ago to join the Rams' playoff run. Not only did he contribute, but Weddle became a starter and the defensive playcaller for the Rams defense. Then, to top it off, he said he tore his pectoral muscle early in the Super Bowl and kept playing. Weddle finished with five tackles and may have contributed to why Burrow was taken down by Donald on the final play. Weddle was lurking in the neighborhood of Burrow's initial read, which he pulled down and scrambled from.

It's clear that the Ravens wide receivers do not like Bengals cornerback Eli Apple, and they're not afraid to do some social media chirping of their own. Both Marquise Brown and Rashod Bateman poked fun at the trash talking Apple after he was beat for two touchdowns by Kupp. Apple is a pending free agent this offseason, so he may not be back in Cincinnati for a rematch anyway.

Calais Campbell's fire burns brighter after watching Weddle and the Rams celebrate under the confetti. Campbell was pondering retirement this offseason, but declared after the game that he’s not going to hang it up. Campbell has made it very clear that he's chasing a ring (like Weddle came back to do). Now will he do it in Baltimore? Campbell is a pending unrestricted free agent. DeCosta said he plans on having more conversations with him this offseason, so there seems to be mutual interest.