Los Angeles Rams star receiver Cooper Kupp capped off his historic season with yet another prestigious award on Sunday, as he became just the eighth wideout in NFL history to earn Super Bowl MVP honors. Under the brightest lights, the league's Offensive Player of the Year racked up 92 yards on eight catches with two huge touchdowns -- one being the game-winner.
But Kupp wasn't the only Rams player who made a significant impact on the field against the Cincinnati Bengals. Elite defensive tackle Aaron Donald also made two clutch plays in the trenches during the final minute of Super Bowl 56. And according to Rams legend Isaac Bruce, Donald was more worthy of MVP honors than Kupp.
"If there was a better football player on the field than Aaron Donald, I'd like to shake his hand -- he was totally the MVP," Bruce told The Zach Gelb Show on Monday. "I'm not sure how they vote for the MVP. But what I was looking at and seeing, there wasn't a better player on that field than Donald... Let's just be real: Donald, for the last two weeks, ended the game with a walk-off sack. The man's powerful, the greats talk about him among the other greats already.
"What he did last night in Super Bowl 56, I haven't seen anybody just take a game over like that since Lawrence Taylor did it... It's possible [he retires] -- you're talking about a collision sport, where guys run into each other for a living. He's done everything you can do. Only thing he hasn't been able to do is defend his title... If he were to walk away, I think I'd be satisfied with where his career is right now... I just love everything he is, on and off the field."
If Donald is contemplating retirement -- he sidestepped questions about the rumors after the game -- the three-time DPOY would walk away as one of the NFL's greatest defenders. With 48 seconds left in Super Bowl 56, leading by just three points, he stopped Bengals running back Samaje Perine one yard short of a first down on 3rd-and-1 at midfield. And that critical tackle was just the first of two championship-saving stops.
On the ensuing play, Donald broke through Cincinnati's pass protection and wrapped quarterback Joe Burrow in the pocket, forcing an incomplete pass. The turnover on downs handed Los Angeles the ball with just 39 seconds to go, and with one kneel down, the Rams won their second Lombardi Trophy since 1999. Donald finished the game with two sacks, two tackles for loss, and three quarterback hits.
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