CINCINNATI – The play is one that will forever be with Logan Wilson.
Facing the daunting task of covering Cooper Kupp over the middle on a critical third down late in the Super Bowl, Wilson put his hands on Kupp but didn’t turn his shoulders, showing the perfect technique called for in that situation.
He followed Kupp on a dig/crosser, picking up the Rams receiver out of the left slot. Matthew Stafford threw a ball that was targeted for Kupp’s midsection but Wilson swung his right arm across and batted the ball to the turf.
But on the same play in which video showed bookend false starts by the Rams tackles, the flag came flying in Wilson’s direction with 1:44 remaining.
The call was defensive holding. Instead of fourth-and-goal at the Bengals 8 and the Bengals leading 20-16, the Rams were gifted four more shots at the Super Bowl-winning touchdown.
Nearly three months later, Wilson was asked Tuesday if he disagreed with the call by back judge Scott Helverson that eventually led to Kupp catching the game-winner 20 seconds and three penalties later.
Logan Wilson on THAT play in Super Bowl LVI. Classy, classy answer from the #Bengals LB. pic.twitter.com/PDtwACke3g
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) May 3, 2022
“Yeah, but there’s nothing I could do about it,” Wilson said. “I have people ask me all the time, how did you respond to that? It’s like, it’s a thing that’s out of your control. You can’t do anything about it. That’s just the mentality. You have to go in the next play and try to get a stop and we failed to do so.
“I feel like that’s how I felt like I played it. I guess the only other thing I could have done is not touch him. But it’s also a physical game and you have to be able to put your hands on people within that five-yard zone.”
Naturally, it’s a play Wilson has had to answer in his mind and the minds of others often throughout the offseason.
“It was pretty often,” Wilson said. “When I was back home, little kids would come up to me and like, ‘Why didn’t you challenge that play?’ It’s like, ‘Well buddy, I wish I could have challenged it.’ It doesn’t work like that.
“Everyone is saying how they false started. But you have to put yourself in the referees’ shoes. It’s not that easy. They’re making a split-second decision in the biggest game on the world stage. It’s tough either way.”
This will be my only tweet about the game. Logan Wilson is going to be remembered for this flag, when in reality if this goes our way he’s looking at a possible Super Bowl MVP. The dude was unreal last night and I will never EVER forget that. pic.twitter.com/A2kp9xh6sv
— Logan Fulmer (@Fvlmer) February 14, 2022
With Super Bowl dreams dashed, there was zero bitterness in Wilson’s answer. He didn’t play the victim. There was no sense of entitlement from a guy that played the entire postseason with a torn labrum in his shoulder.
Wilson announced Tuesday he will not be taking part in the offseason workout part of the program but rather just hanging around the team as his surgically repaired shoulder heals from labrum surgery. Instead, he affirmed that he’ll be ready to go for training camp in late July and for the preseason in August.
Logan Wilson is the poster child of what Zac Taylor was referring to Tuesday, the football character and the will required to get back to the Super Bowl next February in Arizona to finish the job.
“We’re humble and hungry to get back” Logan Wilson #Bengals pic.twitter.com/7MO5QFfyp9
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) May 3, 2022
“It’s a very close team, and it only ended just a little over two months ago, so it doesn’t feel like you’ve been apart that long,” Taylor said. I think the closeness of this team really stands out.”
Why does that matter? Because in critical situations like the end of a Super Bowl that doesn’t go your way, you have to trust in one another that you lose together. Games like those at SoFi Stadium in February can rip apart a team. Taylor feels confident the opposite will happen with these Bengals.
“There’s no question. You just have to trust that at times they care more about their teammates and their coaches than they care about their own success,” Taylor told me. “Once you find the guys who love to communicate, they love that part of the game, they love the details of studying an opponent, that stuff comes from the guys who have good football character and love the process.
“Again, there’s plenty of talented players who have had tremendous careers who maybe didn’t love that part of it. But we just place a lot of value on guys who love that part of the process and it’s served us well. That’s a model we continue to follow.”
Another example of the football character to which Taylor refers came from veteran corner Mike Hilton, repeating the head coach’s message to the team in their first team meeting this week.
“Everything’s still in front of us,” Hilton said. “I know a lot of people outside this city and outside this organization think last year was a fluke. But we’re confident in each other and we’re just going to build off the success from last year. And like I said, with that the guys that we’re bringing in, we feel like we bettered ourselves and gave ourselves an even bigger opportunity this year.”
This is the kind of chip on the shoulder Hilton feels will drive this team.
“Everything is still in front of us.” Mike Hilton #Bengals pic.twitter.com/jUlS2jJh68
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) May 3, 2022
“Absolutely, because people still didn’t believe it throughout the whole playoff run, you know? They were saying ‘We were lucky’ and this and that. Of course, you definitely get some lucky breaks. We were pretty much healthy the whole year, so that’s always a blessing,” Hilton said. “But when people call it a fluke, we just smile and take it on. We’re ready to go out there and prove it again.”
The healing is nearly complete from one of the most heartbreaking and frustrating losses in Super Bowl history.
“We made it as far as we did, but we’re back at square one now, which is kind of how this league works,” Hilton said. “What happened last year at this point, honestly, it doesn’t matter. We’re moving on towards next season and we’re hungry to get back to it and hopefully win it.”
They know they were close. But they also know that – following the offseason training program and the OTA and the six-week vacation break from mid-June to the end of July – they’ll be starting all over again.
