There’s plenty of blame to go around for the Bengals’ fourth-quarter collapse in Super Bowl LVI. Cincinnati’s anemic offensive line deserves the brunt of it, hanging quarterback Joe Burrow out to dry by allowing a Super Bowl record seven sacks. But if talking heads on Twitter had to identify one main culprit, it would have to be embattled cornerback Eli Apple, who, in the biggest game of what has been a frustrating six-year career, came up painfully short, delivering a listless performance on football’s biggest stage.
Apple, a former top-10 pick now playing for his fourth NFL team following eventful stints in New York, New Orleans and Carolina, spent his evening getting bullied by Rams receiver Cooper Kupp, permitting two touchdowns to the Super Bowl MVP including Kupp’s go-ahead tally with 1:25 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Apple, who PFF rated 73rd among cornerbacks during the regular season (that’s out of 120 positional qualifiers), was mocked relentlessly on social media, catching strays from Lamar Jackson, Mecole Hardman and even some of his former teammates.
In fairness to Apple, most DBs would have struggled against Kupp, the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year during the regular season and the first player to lead the league in all three receiving categories—receptions, yards and touchdowns—since Steve Smith Sr. in 2005. Players, it seemed, had been waiting all year to rip Apple, who, throughout his career, has gained a reputation as a locker room headache, alienating teammates with his selfishness and immaturity.
The Bengals were a minute-and-a-half away from capturing their first Super Bowl in franchise history before it all slipped away. Kupp’s heroics were the difference, torching Cincinnati for 46 yards (39 receiving, seven rushing) on the final drive. Heartbreaking as Sunday was for Cincinnati, squandering a chance to exorcise 50 years of football demons, many would say the Bengals were ahead of schedule, giving the Rams all they could handle a year after missing the playoffs entirely. Of course, others might argue the Bengals’ bubble was bound to burst eventually, surviving an unusual amount of close games en route to their first conference title in 33 years.
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