Before the 2021-2022 NFL season began, not many would have predicted a Super Bowl featuring the LA Rams and Cincinnati Bengals. But here we are after almost six months of action packed and drama filled football, with both teams just one win away from a legacy defining championship. Here’s what they each need to do if they want to be the ones raising the Lombardi Trophy after the 56th iteration of the big game on February 13th.
The LA Rams have the unique opportunity of playing the Super Bowl on their home turf at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, something that has only happened once before in NFL history when Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won Super Bowl 55 in Tampa Bay last year. In what is only the brand new stadium’s second year of action, the Rams will likely have the comfort, familiarity, and crowd noise advantage in a game where they are, ironically, officially considered the visiting team.
That familiarity is something the Rams are hoping will help their quarterback Matthew Stafford in a game that for him is anything but familiar. After spending the last twelve years putting up impressive individual numbers on a disappointing Detroit Lions team, the Rams made the splash move of the 2021 offseason by signing Stafford, replacing Jared Goff who himself had taken the Rams to the Super Bowl in 2018. The move was controversial, as Goff had been successful while Stafford’s legacy in Detroit was tainted by the fact that he had never won a playoff game there. A year later, and he has a chance to win the Super Bowl, and put that narrative well and truly to rest.
There is no doubt that the Rams need Stafford to play well if they want to win next Sunday, and he has done just that in his first three playoff games with his new team. So far this postseason, Stafford has completed 72% of his passes for 905 yards, and thrown six touchdowns to just one interception. The Bengals finished the regular season with only the 17th ranked pass defense, and with the Rams featuring a plethora of talented receivers, the Rams have the potential to take hold of the game in a big way through the air.
Headlining that receiving core is the NFL’s third ever triple crown winner in Cooper Kupp, who also became the first wide receiver in history to eclipse 2,000 yards in a single season last Sunday. Stopping him is undoubtedly a priority for the Bengals, although he is far from Stafford’s only option. Mid-season signing Odell Beckham Jr. has come into his own once again as a strong second option, already with nineteen catches these playoffs, and Van Jefferson and tight end Tyler Higbee have also been reliable pass catchers for Stafford this season, although it is worth noting that Higbee’s status is questionable with a knee injury.
But what the Bengals defense has allowed through the air, they have made up for in the turnover department, where the unit has amassed six interceptions this postseason, including a crucial overtime pick of Patrick Mahomes last week. The Rams and Stafford have had a significant turnover issue themselves, with Stafford leading the NFL in picks, and the team narrowly avoiding disaster against the 49ers when Jaquisky Tartt had an easy late game interception slip through his fingers. If the Bengals want a chance to win, they have to find a way to turnover Matt Stafford, and give the ball to their own high flying offense.
There is no doubt that the Bengals offense runs first and foremost though Joe Burrow, and his former fellow LSU Tiger wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. The duo have the opportunity to win the Super Bowl only two years after they won the college national championship, and Joe Burrow would become only the third quarterback to win both. The other two are hall of famers and fellow Joe’s, Montana and Namath. While Stafford faces pressure to win with a team that has had success in recent years, Burrow and the Bengals have done nothing but exceed expectations, with many pre-season predictions placing them in fourth within their own division. With no expectations or pressure, the team have adopted Burrow’s identity; oozing confidence, and reminding the world every chance they get that they deserve to be in the Super Bowl, and that they’re not going anywhere.
As a rookie, Ja’Marr Chase is already a top wide receiver in the league, and is the current front runner for offensive rookie of the year. However, while stopping him will be crucial for the Rams, the Bengals do not have the depth at wide receiver that the Rams do. If Chase is covered, Burrow will need time to survey the field and make good decisions, something he has not had in 2021.
Perhaps the most impactful matchup of Super Bowl 56 will come between the offensive and defensive lines of the Bengals and Rams respectively. Joe Burrow was sacked fifty-one times in 2021, the most in the NFL, including nine times against the Titans in the divisional round, tying a playoff record. The Rams will not make protecting Burrow any easier, with their defensive front featuring perhaps the best defensive player in the NFL in Aaron Donald, and Von Miller, who himself is no stranger to sacking quarterbacks in the Super Bowl. That Rams front will also make running the football a tall order, and while Bengals running back Joe Mixon ranked third in the NFL in rushing yards this year, those yards will be hard to come by next Sunday.
On paper the Rams are a better team, and they should play as such. Mathew Stafford needs to play a clean game and trust his receivers to make plays after the catch, instead of forcing the ball down the field. If the Rams do not turn the ball over, the Bengals will have a difficult time getting enough possessions to overcome the Rams’ strong front, and stay in the game offensively.
But the Bengals have been told they are a worse team on paper all year, and here they are. They know they belong, and need to play with the confidence that has let them come back against the Chiefs, and knock off the top seeded Titans. The Bengals secondary needs to take advantage of any Stafford mistake and continue their ball hawking tendencies in the postseason, while Burrow needs to be aware of pressure, and throw the ball away instead of taking costly sacks.
Both teams feature strong armed, former number one overall quarterbacks with no hesitation towards throwing the ball down field, top notch receivers in line to bring home hardware, and the drive to win a Super Bowl for the first time in a generation. If other games this postseason are anything to go on, it should be a thriller. Who do you have?
