The Cincinnati Bengals will face the Los Angeles Rams for the first time since 2019 in this year’s Super Bowl on Feb. 13 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Both teams are known for their formidable players, so there is much to expect from the two teams and how they will fight for the trophy.
According to ESPN’s football power index, the Rams have a win probability of 66.3%. Out of 50 predictions from experts at ESPN, 55.8% favor the Rams, while 44.2% are still hopeful for a Bengals win.
The Rams were 12-5 during the regular season, and 15-5 overall.
According to the NFL, the Rams are currently in ninth place in offense and 17th place in defense. This is surprising as the Rams have made it through all of their playoff games with rarely any setbacks.
With quarterback Matthew Stafford leading his team to California, fans are excited to see how this game will end.
This season, Stafford has managed to get over 4,800 yards and pass 41 touchdowns. If Stafford can maintain his performance from the playoffs and regular season, Los Angeles has a significant chance of winning.
Stafford played for the school during his high school years, so many Dallas and Texas fans are arguably choosing the Rams because of Stafford’s reputation in Texas.
After graduating high school, Stafford played at the University of Georgia and was then drafted into the NFL in 2009. Being a veteran player, there’s much pressure for Stafford as he’s never won a Super Bowl.
As for key players, defensive tackle Aaron Donald is one to look out for. Donald has 76 total sacks for this season alone. This is the highest amount of sacks he’s made in his eight year career.
John Clayton, a reporter for the Washington Post, predicted in an article that Donald will sack at least two times throughout the game.
“Nobody can block Donald,” Clayton reported. “He has been the game’s most dominant defender since coming into the league. He has one and a half sacks in the Rams’ three playoff games. The Bengals have definitely shown throughout the regular season and in these playoffs an inability to keep great defensive tackles out of the backfield, but Donald is a next-level disrupter.”
The Bengals were 10-7 in the regular season and 13-7 leading into the Super Bowl. While being in 13th place offensively and 18th place defensively according to the NFL, the Bengals have proven themselves as they advance to the Super Bowl.
This is the first time the Bengals will be playing in the Super Bowl since losing to the San Francisco 49’ers in 1989. The Bengals have never won a Super Bowl, so to see this team win would be a big deal.
Quarterback Joe Burrow has come a long way since his start with the Bengals in 2019. Due to a knee injury during the 2020-2021 season, Burrow wasn’t able to play as strongly. Now that he’s back on his feet, there’s no doubt Burrow will give it his all.
As for statistics, Burrow has established himself once again with a franchise single season record of 4,611 yards and 34 touchdowns.
Before Burrow signed with Cincinnati, he played at Louisiana State University alongside wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
Chase has excelled his rookie season by having 1455 receiving yards and a 61.2% catch rate. Chase was a fifth round pick when being drafted by Cincinnati in the 2021 drafts.
Bengals wide receiver coach Troy Walters told ESPN about the unbreakable bond between Burrow and Chase.
“They came into this thing being on the same page understanding each other,” Walters told ESPN. “Joe knows exactly what Ja’Marr is going to do in terms of his release, where to throw the ball. Ja’Marr understands where Joe is going to put the ball. It’s just uncanny.”
With a stellar lineup, it seems the Bengals have all they need to take down Stafford and his Rams, except for what they need to improve on.
Burrow has been sacked 51 times during the regular season and it seems he will continue to be sacked if he can’t move quickly or get the ball out of his hands.
Though Burrow is one of the most sacked quarterbacks in the NFL, he can throw the ball in an average of 2.69 seconds. If Burrow can focus on throwing the ball while looking out for the Los Angeles defense, he can make this game a great success for Cincinnati.
Even with so many differences between the teams, a key similarity is that the Rams and Bengals have both scored 460 points in the regular season.
Heading into Sunday’s game, it will be interesting to see how the two skilled teams will play for a Super Bowl title.
