The Los Angeles Rams are one win away from validating all of their blockbuster moves as they are set to take on the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.
Under head coach Sean McVay, the Rams have been able to make the championship game twice in five years and hopefully this time around come away with a Lombardi Trophy. Leading the way for Los Angeles’ offense is Matthew Stafford, who the franchise acquired by traded away Jared Goff following the end of their disappointing 2020 run.
Goff, now with the Detroit Lions, performed admirably during his time with the Rams but admitted he has some mixed feelings about their Super Bowl appearance, via Michael Silver of Bally Sports:
“Most of all, I’m happy for those guys because I know how hard they’ve worked, and they deserve it,” Goff said Sunday while sitting in his sunny backyard, a week before the Rams and Cincinnati Bengals will meet at SoFi for Super Bowl LVI. “Of course, as a human, you feel like you can be missing out at times. But I think about, if I was in that situation, how would they feel about me? They’d be equally as thrilled for me.
“It’s something that you wish you could be a part of in your own right with the Lions, but we’re not right now — and watching them do it is just another part of the journey.”
While Goff would have every reason to feel bitter about being traded for Stafford, he revealed he is cheering on the fellow No. 1 overall pick:
“Yeah, I’ve always been a huge fan of Matthew’s as a player and as a person,” he said. “I know that what he went through the first part of his career was tough, and seeing him battle through that and get his opportunity now, it’s amazing. You root for people like that. It’s impossible not to. And it’s impossible not to root for good things to happen to good people.”
So far, Stafford is making good on the Rams’ bet that he could take them over the hump and Goff seems at peace knowing that the guy who took over for him is close to a Super Bowl ring. Los Angeles has a fight on its hands against a good Cincinnati team and Stafford will need to be at his best to prove that the trade was worth it.
