Super Bowl LVI Preview

Two teams, one winner, and more than 150 million people tuned in to watch this annual, sacred championship of the sports world. This is the Super Bowl. 

Super Bowl LVI is going to give us a matchup that very few of us expected to see when the post-season started. If you read my previous article on my 2022 NFL Playoff Predictions, then you’d know I was a firm believer in the Cincinnati Bengals to make it to the Super Bowl. I will be the first to admit that I didn’t think the Rams could pull it off despite all of the individual talents that they have on their team. Here we are with a Super Bowl matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams.

The Cincinnati Bengals’ odds to make it to the Super Bowl this season were 125 to 1. They only won four games last season. This season they were able to win their first playoff game in over 30 years. They are the true meaning of an underdog. They’ll face off against the Los Angeles Rams, who are one of the only teams in NFL history to host the Super Bowl while playing in it. 

Two weeks of constant hype has been building around quarterback play for nothing but good reasons. The Bengals’ rising star Joe Burrow is living up to the hype that was built around him at LSU during his college years. Young Burrow has been playing lights out football and making magical plays in this postseason. The Los Angeles Rams’ quarterback Matthew Stafford has given his all and done everything that head coach Sean McVay has asked of him. Matthew Stafford is a great player, but the focus won’t be on him, as it will be shifted on star defensive tackle Aaron Donald and Triple Crown winner and star wide receiver Cooper Kupp. They both helped close out a very close NFC championship game against a very underwhelming San Francisco 49ers. Both players have proven that they can be clutch when their team needs them, we’ll just have to see if that can translate to the Super Bowl.

The Cincinnati Bengals had a regular-season record of 10-7, and they entered the playoffs as the number 4 seed. They found a ton of success against very difficult opponents including the Las Vegas Raiders, Tennessee Titans, and the Kansas City Chiefs. Star quarterback and former 1st overall pick Joe Burrow has been performing phenomenally, despite having a weak offensive line. His ability to stay composed under pressure is what makes him such a talented quarterback because you can see how composed he stays under pressure. On Sunday, during the AFC championship game, he completed 7 of his twelve passes under heavy pressure and converted on three third downs while scrambling. When the Chiefs found ways to double man-mark star receiver, Ja’Marr Chase, Burrow having the high football IQ he already has just shifted his targets to Tee Higgins who finished the game with 103 yards. Burrow is playing like he did, while he was at LSU. He is carrying his team that has some lack of talent and depth. It seems like this Bengals team has put all of their trust into this young quarterback, and he is making them believe. I believe that they can go all the way and win the Super Bowl.

The Bengals without a doubt have the capability to win the Super Bowl, but with that being said the Rams have shown how they can execute in important game situations, so it will take more than a little bit of luck for the Bengals to beat the Rams. The Bengals’ offense greatly depends on wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, which isn't a bad thing, but it has become very predictable for their other opponents to know where Joe Burrow is going to throw a majority of the time. The Bengals need to get their other receivers involved and give them consistent targets throughout this very important game. Although they might not always utilize it, the Bengals have quality depth in the receiver position. For example, they have Tee Higgins who proved in the AFC Championship game that he can be trusted with the ball. The Bengals also have Tyler Boyd, a third-string receiver who has great speed and decent hands. While Ja’Marr Chase will be key to this Bengals offense, Joe Burrow will need to get Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd involved in the game early to keep this stifling Rams defense on their feet.

The Rams are a strong team that has individually talented players, but they lack quality team chemistry and have too many big egos on their team. Having good team chemistry and having everyone working as a unit is crucial for winning championships. Michael Jordan said it best, “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” Despite the team lacking certain things, there still is hope for this team. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has proven that he can be counted on in the fourth quarter of the game. That is the part of the game that will either make or break a team. Based on how narrow the margin of victory has been over the past couple of playoff games, this fourth-quarter talent of his could prove to be helpful to the Rams later on in the game. Stafford has 34 fourth-quarter touchdowns in the regular season throughout his entire career, which places him fifth all-time in this specific category. While the Bengals have been performing a lot better, you can’t count this Rams offense out, when they have Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham Jr. with the game on the line.

My two main concerns for this team are 1) their chemistry, which has been displayed numerous times throughout the season and postseason, and 2) Sean McVay. Yes, Sean McVay is a very good coach, but he is known for sporadically using up timeouts with a lot of game time left. For example, in the NFC Championship Game, the Rams were out of timeouts with about ten minutes left in the game. That can hurt a team tremendously and rush everyone to the point where game-changing errors can occur.

If the Rams want to beat the Bengals, they will need to utilize their big four. They will need to get Aaron Donald and Von Miller on the defensive side of things involved. They are a huge mismatch against the Bengals' offensive line. Then the other two guys the Rams are going to need to use from start to finish in this game on the offensive side of things are their two star wide receivers in Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham Jr.These two men are huge red zone threats, and have the ability to run some of the nastiest routes in the league. The Rams just have to hope they can execute in the Super Bowl.

I believe that the Cincinnati Bengals will be crowned champions of the NFL and bring home their very first Super Bowl title to the city of Cincinnati. I highly encourage you to watch the game. It’s on February 13th at 6:30 pm EST and the channel you can find it on is NBC. Enjoy.

By Avner Belsky