INGLEWOOD — Joe Burrow’s long and lonely wait started in the midst of the Rams’ 15-play touchdown drive.

Burrow quickly emerged as an NFL superstar because of his calm demeanor, but the nerves showed when the Cincinnati Bengals’ quarterback paced on the sideline, as Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford operated a comeback in the final minutes of Super Bowl LVI on Sunday night at SoFi Stadium.

Burrow went from the edge of his seat to standing by himself behind the row of teammates on the sideline. He then accepted that the Rams were going to score and it was time to exude the confidence that helped bring the Bengals to this stage.

“We came in comfortable because we believe in him,” Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd said.

The Bengals were potentially a yard away from going from worst record in the league to world champions in a two-year stretch. The Burrow swagger nearly pulled it off before it ran into the dominant Aaron Donald, who wrecked the Bengals’ fourth-and-1 play to secure the Rams’ Lombardi Trophy after the 23-20 victory.

“It hurts,” Burrow said about the crushing loss. “We’re a young team. You’d like to think we’ll be back in this situation multiple times over the next few years. We take this and let it fuel you for the rest of our careers.”

Burrow’s right knee getting twisted by Von Miller appeared perhaps as painful as the loss, but Burrow said he never considered coming out of the game. He didn’t allow the medical trainers to treat him as he limped on the sideline with 12 minutes in the fourth quarter.

He walked off the knee pain and gathered himself, the same way he did on the sideline during Stafford’s game-winning drive that consumed nearly five minutes from the clock. Burrow picked up his helmet when Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson was flagged for holding wide receiver Cooper Kupp near the end zone.

Burrow accepted the reality that the Rams were going to eventually score and take the lead. He waited a few more minutes on the sideline because the Bengals were flagged a couple more times before Stafford connected with Kupp for a 1-yard touchdown togo ahead, 23-20, with 1:25 left in regulation.

Like he did most of the season, Burrow appeared composed for the biggest drive of his career. He hit reliable rookie wideout Ja’Marr Chase for 17 yards and Boyd for 9 yards on the first two plays of the drive. That’s when they ran into the pesky 1 yard that ended the Bengals’ improbable story of going from three consecutive last-place finishes in the AFC North to winning the AFC championship.

The Bengals had three tries to get one yard and continue the drive. Burrow had two incompletions and they had a run for no gain between the misfires.

“We put a lot of work into going out there and executing and performing well and it didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to,” Burrow said. “It’s very disappointing.”

Burrow was sacked seven times and hit 11 times, but he didn’t blame the frequent second-half pressure for why the Bengals lost, and he definitely wasn’t going to point the finger at Boyd’s first drop of the season that led to the Rams’ game-winning drive. Boyd would have extended the Bengals’ drive if he completed the catch on third-and-9 with 6:23 left.

“I’m not going to look down at myself after one drop,” Boyd said. “I still need to catch it and get the first down, but I’m human.”

Burrow, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, had to remind himself in the locker room of what the Bengals accomplished in his second season. He remembered a moment from Kurt Warner’s “A Football Life” documentary while the pain of the loss sunk it. Warner had a Hall-of-Fame career with the Rams and Arizona Cardinals but was 1-2 in his Super Bowl appearances.

“I watched the football life of Kurt Warner last week when we had a little break and I kinda thought about this in the locker room,” Burrow said. “When they lost one (Super Bowl), and later within the documentary he said they let it sting too much that they didn’t celebrate what they accomplished.

“Obviously, it stings, but we had a great year. But I think we still have something to celebrate.”

Burrow finished 22-of-33 for 263 yards and one touchdown. He received help from running back Joe Mixon in multiple ways. Mixon threw a 6-yard touchdown to wide receiver Tee Higgins, who escaped in the back of the end zone during the trick play that trimmed the Rams’ advantage to 13-10 with 5:47 in the second quarter.

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Burrow settled down after Mixon recorded the team’s first first down with a 13-yard run late in the first quarter. On the following play, Burrow threw a rainbow deep ball to buy Chase enough time to separate from Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

But Burrow was unable to find the end zone after Chase’s acrobatic 46-yard catch.

The Bengals found themselves down 13-3 after touchdown receptions from Rams wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Kupp.

The Bengals rallied and found themselves with a 20-13 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Burrow came up short, but his play and swagger made the Bengals believe they belonged on the big stage. They hung with the Rams for most of the game and they’ll likely be in the playoff mix for years to come with Burrow under center.

“He’s a fighter,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “He’s one of the toughest guys I’ve ever met. So much respect for Joe. He’s gotten us to this point.”