Super Bowl LVI Preview

 

The Super Bowl will feature the Los Angeles Rams playing the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium this Sunday and the Rams are slightly favored to win the game. They last won the Super Bowl following the 1999 season when they were located in St. Louis. 

Since then, they appeared in two other Super Bowl games and lost them both to the New England Patriots. The Bengals are appearing in their third ever Super Bowl, having lost twice to the San Francisco 49ers in previous games, following the 1981 and 1988 seasons. Both the Bengals and Rams are the fourth seeded teams from their conferences and did not face each other this past season. 

 

 

The Rams defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 20-17 to advance while Cincinnati surprised the Kansas City Chiefs, 27-24 in overtime to get to the big game. Both teams pulled off surprises during the post-season as they face off to determine the champion for the 2021 NFL season. 

 

The Rams offense features quarterback Matthew Stafford, who finally got over the hump with three playoff wins so far after losing all three previous playoff games he appeared in with the Detroit Lions between the 2009-2020 seasons. Meanwhile, Bengals QB Joe Burrow is in his second season and has been stellar during the past couple of months, helping lead the team to this point with three playoff wins as they seek their first ever Super Bowl title. 

Bengals QB Joe Burrow and Rams Matthew Stafford are in their first ever Super Bowl.

Los Angeles thrives when their offense is clicking with Stafford hitting wide receivers Cooper Kupp (the leading receiver in the entire NFL this past season with 145 receptions for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns) and Odell Beckham, Jr. who was a mid-season pickup from the Cleveland Browns. Tight End Tyler Higbee and WR Van Jefferson are other prime targets in the passing game. The running backs are Sony Michel and Darrell Henderson, who both average over four yards per carry and can catch the ball out of the backfield. 

On defense, Aaron Donald (12 1/2 sacks in regular season) leads the way and is flanked by Von Miller and Leonard Floyd (nine sacks) to form a serious pass rush. In the secondary is cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who had four interceptions this past season and safety Taylor Rapp, who also made four picks. The Rams defense has allowed 55 points through three games in the playoffs.  

The Bengals seem to be a team of destiny as they stormed back from a 21-3 deficit to win on the road against Kansas City two weeks ago. Burrow completed 70 percent of his pass attempts this year and his main target has been rookie wideout Ja'Marr Chase, who set an NFL record for rookies with 1,455 receiving yards on 81 receptions, which included 13 touchdowns. Along with Chase is Tee Higgins (74, 1,091 yards and six TD) and Tyler Boyd. The tight end is C.J. Uzomah, who is coming back from a knee injury to play in this one. Running back Joe Mixon ran for 1,205 yards and scored 13 touchdowns and is a dual threat, having made 42 receptions, including three scoring passes from Burrow. 

Defensively, the Bengals have caught fire at the right time, allowing just 59 points through three post-season victories. Trey Hendrickson led Cincinnati with 14 sacks this year while Sam Hubbard (7 1/2 sacks) and Larry Ogunjobi (seven sacks) bolster the pass rush. Linebacker Logan Wilson had four interceptions while Eli Apple, Mike Hilton and Chidobe Awuzie each had two picks. 

The key to success, as always, will be in avoiding turnovers in this game. If the Rams can get after Burrow with the tremendous pressure they bring on defense and force mistakes, then they should be on their way to a championship. But remember that Burrow was sacked nine times by the Tennessee Titans defense and the Bengals still prevailed. Rams QB Stafford also has to avoid mistakes that in the past have proved costly. One "X factor" could be Bengals rookie kicker Evan McPherson, who has been perfect on all field goal attempts in these playoffs while Rams kicker Matt Gay has been up and down throughout. Both kickers have made game winning kicks this post-season, but McPherson holds the edge.

The Bengals seem to have a certain mojo happening and it really reminds this fan of the way the New York Giants got hot at just the right time when they upset the New England Patriots twice in Super Bowls following the 2007 and 2011 seasons. Many felt they had no right being there in the first place, but they proved all the doubters wrong by winning those games. The choice here is the Bengals will do likewise, cashing in on an opportunity late in the game to defeat the Rams.

                        PREDICTION  -  Cincinnati Bengals 24, Los Angeles Rams 21