Super Bowl LVI Preview and Prediction

Cover photo taken from Coley Cleary, USA TODAY Sports Media Group illustration

We made it. Welcome to Super Bowl Sunday. Finally. After the longest season in NFL history, a whopping 22 weeks of football, 157 days, one of the wildest seasons to date filled with unbelievable stories, amazing games, and historic performances, and an unforgettable postseason, all eyes will finally turn to Hollywood for the final game of the year. And it’s one that seems like it couldn’t have been scripted any better by the writers of that town. Tonight, the Los Angeles Rams take on the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles, California.

There are storylines galore in this game, many of which have worn themselves out by now. But they’re here, and they’re worth repeating. The Rams are the definition of a team built for Hollywood, with stars all over the field and weekly performances that look like they belong on the big screen. On the other hand, the Bengals are the ultimate underdog, as they have been all season long. They’re the “people’s team”, just a group of guys from Ohio who love playing football, led by one of the most likeable athletes on the planet. Against all odds, that has gotten them to the Super Bowl. Before getting into the game itself, let’s take a deeper look into both teams’ roads to get here.

How the Bengals Got Here

Let’s reword that into a question. How did the Bengals get here? It’s a question I’ve been asking myself for the last two weeks. It just makes no sense to me. The Cincinnati Bengals, a franchise that epitomizes losing, overcoming every obstacle and turning into a winning machine en route to an AFC title. Makes you scratch your head a bit. When analyzing how Cincy got to this point, I think we have to go back. Way back.

I remember where I was on November 22, 2020. I was in the basement of my house watching the then-named Washington Football Team, as I have been on so many Sundays. We were playing the Bengals in one of the worst matchups on paper any football fan could ever put themselves through. It wasn’t a good game at all, and it became one of those games where you remember an event more than the game itself. In the third quarter, the pocket was collapsing, and after firing an incomplete pass, Joe Burrow’s leg was folded up and his ACL and MCL were both torn. It was one of the more gruesome injuries that I’ve seen, but more than that, it was truly heartbreaking. Burrow was just a rookie in his tenth career game after being drafted #1 overall. He has always been a generally loved player and personality, and we all felt that this injury would stick with him for a while. There were doubts that he’d even be ready for the start of this season. It’s now safe to say that any and all doubts about Joe Burrow have been swiftly put to bed.

Because of that injury, and the majority of football-watchers having functional eyes, we all knew that the Bengals needed a better offensive line. Everyone implored Cincy to upgrade through the draft, but even Joe Burrow himself knew that there was a WR talent available with the #5 pick that was too good to pass up: Burrow’s former LSU teammate, WR Jamarr Chase. And all he did was griddy all over the league en route to the greatest rookie season for a WR in NFL history, tallying 81 catches, 1,455 yards (3rd in the NFL), and 13 touchdown grabs, along with winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. The Burrow-to-Chase connection lost no steam after the duo won a National Championship two years ago, and it has added another level to a Bengals offense that already had plenty of playmakers. Now, with a clear star WR1, they boast one of the best WR corps in the league, with Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd being some of the best complementaries in all of football. And with one of the best all-purpose RBs in football in Joe Mixon coming out of the backfield, the Cincinnati offense turned into one of the best in the NFL. It’s as balanced of an attack as they come, and they execute it to perfection.

It’s not all on the fantastic offensive weapons in Cincy. The defense has turned itself around, and it has been the key in getting the Bengals to the Super Bowl. Star pass-rushers like Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard have wreaked havoc on opposing offenses and making tackles look silly in the process. The secondary was formerly one of the most suspect units in football, but they have quickly become the most opportunistic group of DBs I have ever seen. Corners like Eli Apple and Mike Hilton stick to WRs and break up passes, while safeties like Jessie Bates III and Vonn Bell swoop in to take the ball away. It’s a vastly underrated unit that has made their name known in this postseason, forcing turnovers at the best of times against all three opponents to get to the big game.

But let’s make no mistake. The #1 reason that the Bengals are in their first Super Bowl in 33 years is the man with more swag and more confidence than any other player in sports. Joe Burrow, just a year removed from the aforementioned injury, came back in 2021 and took this league over. Week in and week out, Burrow was lighting up defenses thanks to his high-flying offense, and in these playoffs, he has emerged as one of the most clutch QBs in recent memory. As the Bengals play-by-play announcer once famously said, “When other QBs start sweating bullets, Joe Burrow starts throwing bullets.” His poise and collectiveness, even in crumbling pockets and other QB crises, is well beyond his years, and he has proven himself as Joe Cool 2.0. This is the biggest stage of his life, but I have no doubts that he is more than ready for the task at hand.

Cincinnati ended the season scorching hot, winning their first AFC North title since 2015, and they did not slow down in the playoffs. The Cardiac Cats won all three games at the death, the last two thanks to their rookie kicker with D’Angelo Russell levels of ice in his veins, Evan McPherson. They are not only one of the more likable teams to get to this point in recent memory, but they are no longer the underdogs that we have all perceived them to be for this whole time. They are for real, and they have a real shot at this thing. They’ll tell you themselves, this most unlikely of playoff runs doesn’t mean a thing without that ring. But one more team stands in their path.

How the Rams Got Here

You ever seen Casino Royale (2006)? If you have, then I know you remember that iconic scene towards the end of the film where James Bond goes all in and defeats Le Chiffre with a legendary straight flush. This hand of all hands comes shortly after Bond goes all in and loses to the Frenchman, but after being re-staked in the game, he learns his lesson and gets revenge. Why am I bringing this up, you ask? Well, for one, I love making movie references. But, more importantly, in my eyes, this is the story of the 2021 Los Angeles Rams.

January 30, 2021 was a fateful day for the city of Los Angeles. Their team was coming off another disappointing playoff loss, and they knew that if they were to fully reach their potential, they’d have to get the QB to get them there. Jared Goff was serviceable, but this league needs a lot more than that to win titles. And thus, Goff was shipped off to Detroit, along with a whopping three first-round picks, and the Rams got their guy. Someone who had shown all the talent in the world and put up the numbers to go alongside it, but never got over the hump of success in the NFL. His name is Matthew Stafford. And well, the rest is history. Stafford’s first season playing for an actual organization has brought out the absolute best in him, and things have played out exactly as intended for the Rams, if not better. Stafford threw for a whopping 4,886 yards (2nd in the NFL) to go along with 41 touchdowns (3rd in the NFL). LA has gotten every ounce of potential out of Stafford, who won his first playoff game just four weeks ago. Now, he gets a shot at a title, something that will surely cement his legacy despite all those years wasting away in Detroit. But, the story of the Rams is not just the story of Matt Stafford. And it’s certainly not when they stopped pushing chips to the center of the table.

Los Angeles’ defense is a vaunted one. Of course it is. They have one of the greatest players in NFL history right in the middle of it in DT Aaron Donald, the best DB in football in Jalen Ramsey, and a plethora of talent to fill out the rest of the defense. They didn’t necessarily need to get better, but they felt like doing so. On November 1, they traded a second and third-round pick to the Denver Broncos in exchange for DE Von Miller, a former Super Bowl MVP and one of the best defensive players of this generation. Miller was showing signs of slowing down in Denver, but upon going to the City of Angels, he turned into his old self. It took him a short while to get going, but he recorded 5 sacks in the last 4 games of the regular season, along with 2 more in the playoffs. He has added another level to this already vaunted front seven, and considering what he did the last time he played in a Super Bowl, we’ll all be keeping an eye out for him. And still, this is not the last of the Bond-like moves from the Rams.

Ever since the Rams reemerged as one of the consistently-elite teams in this league, they’ve had all the offensive firepower in he world. A consistent theme in those offenses was elite WR play. And a rock of those WR corps was always Robert Woods. And on November 13, he tore his ACL in practice. The magnitude of that loss is hard to quantify, and the Rams knew that it would be a serious detriment to them. Luckily for them, less than 24 hours prior, they made another bold move. They took a chance on a former star WR that now, nobody wanted to touch. Could it be because his level of play fell off when he was on his old team? Or maybe the way he forced himself off of that team? In any case, the Rams did what no other contender wanted to do. They signed Odell Beckham Jr. I remember how much I hated the move. I repeated to everyone that it made the team worse. Now, I’m still not even close to finishing all of this crow that I have to eat. OBJ has been a revelation in Los Angeles, finding his old self and turning back into the star receiver he was in New York. He snagged 5 touchdowns in the regular season, and in the playoffs, he has become un-guardable to the tune of 19 catches, 236 yards, and a TD (9/113 in the NFC Championship). Safe to say this was another very ballsy move that worked out.

I feel guilty for waiting this long to mention the MVP of this team, and arguably the MVP of the entire league. Better late than never. WR Cooper Kupp is the straw that stirs this entire drink, and if you’ve watched even one Rams game this year, you know that goes without saying. In case you haven’t, I’ll let the numbers do the talking. 145 catches, 1,947 yards, and 16 touchdowns, all of which led the league to secure just the fourth ever “Triple Crown” in history. Kupp took home the award for Offensive Player of the Year on Thursday, and nobody was more deserving. Whether he helped you win your fantasy championship (or personally violated your fantasy football team), tore apart your defense, or lit up the football field for all 60 minutes, Kupp put together one of the most impressive seasons in NFL history. Simply put, the Rams go as Cooper Kupp goes.

LA’s season was, like any Hollywood story, told in three acts. The first act featured a blazing start, led by Stafford’s incredible arm and Kupp’s emergence as one of the NFL’s best offensive weapons. The second act featured some shake-ups with the acquisition of Miller and Beckham, along with the loss of Woods. They lost some games in brutal fashion, and I started to lose hope in them to do anything worthwhile in the playoffs. But, the third act was truly something to behold. All of the pieces started clicking en route to a division title. After a heart-pounding trio of postseason games, including their only ever 10+ point 4th quarter comeback under HC Sean McVay in the NFC Championship, they earned the right to play for a title in their luxurious home of SoFi Stadium. Do these Hollywood comparisons never cease?

The Rams were already big spenders. They had more chips than anyone else at the table. They could’ve held onto them or cashed them and been satisfied with that. Everyone thought they should do so. Instead, they pushed them all to the center of the table. And now, they are one win away from a title.

Key Matchups

To me, there are two key matchups in Super Bowl LVI. And they are both a major strength vs. a major weakness. Let’s start with the obvious one: Cincinnati’s offensive line vs. Los Angeles’ front seven. Many believe that the Rams boast the best defensive front on football, with names like Donald, Miller, Leonard Floyd, and more. That argument certainly has some merit to it. But regardless of whether or not you think they’re the best, the key to this matchup comes on the other side. As I said before, anyone with eyes can tell you how rough this Bengals OL is. Just look at their Divisional Round performance, when they allowed a playoff record 9 sacks against the Titans. Joe Burrow’s heroics two weeks ago in Kansas City involved overcoming his porous offensive line, but the wheels might be coming off soon. This is the best front that Cincy has faced in this postseason, and if they crumble on the biggest stage, it will be the team’s downfall. All they have to do is give Joe Burrow a few seconds to breathe, and they’ll have a shot. Just a few seconds.

The other key matchup involves yet another Rams strong suit, with their WRs going up against the Bengals secondary. Those Cincinnati DBs have certainly stepped up in these playoffs, but they are prone to make mistakes throughout the course of the game. And this is not a group of WRs that you want to make mistakes against. Cooper Kupp, OBJ, and Van Jefferson against Eli Apple, Mike Hilton, and Chidobe Awuzie is a complete mismatch on paper, but that shouldn’t faze the Bengals. Their aforementioned opportunistic nature is their bread and butter. They don’t care how many yards they give up if they make plays at the right time and give the ball back to their offense. If the Bengals secondary can force Matt Stafford into making mistakes and limiting big plays, or even just forcing field goals instead of allowing touchdowns, then Cincy’s offense will be in a perfect position to win. But, if they rear their ugly head of porous play, then they’ll bring out the Lombardi by halftime for the Rams.

My Pick

Before I get into my pick for the game, I think it’s worth noting that I have not picked a Super Bowl correctly in six years. The last team to not let me down was the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50. It has been downhill ever since. But I still feel very confident in my pick for this game, as I always do. I’ve been thinking about it for two weeks, crunching the numbers, micro-analyzing every matchup at the most granular levels, reading into superstitions. But after all that, I’m sticking with what my gut has told me since the Championship Games went final on January 30th.

Bengals 27-24 Rams

Sunday, 6:30 PM EST, NBC

It just makes sense. Although, it doesn’t. Not really. On paper, the Rams are clearly the better team in this game. If you ran it in a simulation 100 times, they’d win 90+ times. They have the better offense, the better defense, and maybe even the better special teams. They have all the star power in the world. They’re even playing in their home stadium for crying out loud! But after all this, I simply refer to one thing: destiny.

Sports are a funny thing. At its core, sports come down to heart. The best athletes in the world compete for all this time, but games are not won by the strength of players. Games are won by heart. It’s the heart that leads teams of destiny from rags to riches. From the pits of hell, filled with injuries and losing and heartbreak, to titles and glory. You can’t show me a team with more heart on a Super Bowl stage than this Cincinnati Bengals team. If you don’t believe this is a team of destiny by now, then you’re simply not paying attention.

It’s more than just the mushy stuff, though. I can’t rely on that alone for a Super Bowl pick. The Bengals have simply proven me wrong more than any team I can remember. Their offense is leaps and bounds above what I ever could have imagined, and we’re all running out of things to say about Joe Burrow. Their defense steps up when it matters most, and even their kicker, who they once “inexplicably” drafted with a 5th-round pick, has become a national hero. This team puts up numbers and then smacks you in the mouth when you try to retaliate. They can blow you out, they can grind you down, and they will always emerge victorious when things are toughest. I truly believe that the offensive line will give Joe Burrow that extra second to throw, the secondary will force the turnovers, and I know for a fact that Joe Burrow will be his usual self and pull one last clutch rabbit out of his hat. Evan McPherson kicks another game-winner at the buzzer, and Burrow takes home a Super Bowl MVP to go along with every other accolade and achievement in the book.

I know that the Rams have all the stars and the future Hall of Famers and the “genius” head coach and all of the above. I simply do not care. Because you can measure all you want in stats, contracts, trade details, stadium costs, and everything else. But there is one thing you cannot measure. Heart.

In any case, I hope this game is as great as it promises to be. We deserve it as fans. I think it’s going to be a blast, even if the commercials and halftime shows in between the game action aren’t all that. I can’t wait for Super Bowl LVI, and I hope you all enjoy it, no matter what unfolds on the field.

Lastly, I just want to thank you all for another fantastic NFL season. If you read, clicked, or shared any of the posts from this season, I appreciate you tremendously. This was an even better year than 2020-21, with more posts, interactions, and growth than ever before. I am truly grateful all of the support. And I promise you, things aren’t slowing down anytime soon. I’ll be back soon enough. I’ll see you all then.

All stats taken from ESPN.