Looking for the Lombardi: A Super Bowl LVI Preview
Photo depicts the Bengals’ running back, Joe Mixon, and the Rams’ defensive tackle, Aaron Donald. Photo from Sky Sports.
Srikar Kalapala
After this past Sunday, two teams were left standing: the AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals, and the NFC Champion Los Angeles Rams. The Bengals beat the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24 and the Rams beat the San Francisco 49ers 20-17.
For the first time in over 30 years, the Cincinnati Bengals are going to the Super Bowl. The Bengals’ road to get here was not easy. Just 2 years ago, they were the worst team in the NFL, and with the first overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, they selected Joe Burrow whom they hoped to be their franchise quarterback. So far, he has been that, and more. After tearing his ACL, MCL, and PCL in his rookie year against Washington, Burrow came back in 2021 better than ever. He threw for 4,611 yards with 34 touchdowns en route to winning the Comeback Player of Year Award from Pro Football Writers of America. However, Burrow isn’t the only talent the Bengals have on offense. They have a stud running back in Joe Mixon, who rushed for over 1,200 yards this year, and a trio of amazing receivers: Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd. Cincinnati’s defense is not too shabby either. Led by the likes of Trey Hendrickson and Jessie Bates III, this defense made great strides compared to their lackluster efforts in 2019 and 2020. Cincinnati spent significant money this past off-season on their defense, in hopes to bring an influx of talent and a winning culture to the team. Among these moves was bringing in Hendrickson on a four year, $60 million dollar deal. Man has that move been a home run. Hendrickson got 14 sacks this year, and brought a whole new pass rush dynamic to this team. This defense played a huge role against Kansas City, which is why this team is headed to the Super Bowl.
The Bengals had to get through three nail biters to get to the Super Bowl. In the Wild Card Game, they beat the Las Vegas Raiders 26-19 in a game that came down to the very last play. The Bengals intercepted Raiders quarterback Derek Carr on 4th and Goal to get to the Divisional Round. There, they upset the #1 seeded Tennessee Titans 19-16 in Nashville in a game that came down to Evan McPherson’s game winning field goal, where he famously said before the kick, “Looks like we’re going to the AFC Championship Game.” It was all coming together for Cincinnati. One win away from getting back to the promised land. However, there was one problem; to get there, they had to beat the Kansas City Chiefs. Led by superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs had been in the AFC Championship Game for three straight years, and they only lost once to a guy named Tom Brady. Cincinnati did not back down. Even after losing by 18 points at one point, and trailing 21-10 at halftime, this team did not flinch. The defense stopped the Chiefs for 6 straight possessions, and Burrow orchestrated scoring drives to put them up 24-21 with 6:04 left in the 4th quarter. Bengals fans held their breath as Mahomes led the Chiefs down to the red zone with two minutes left to play. But on 3rd and Goal, the defense came up big again, and the Chiefs had to settle for a field goal as regulation expired. Now in OT, the Bengals had to hold their breath again, as the Chiefs won the coin toss. This script was far too familiar. Just the prior week, the Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills played an incredible game just for the coin toss to be the de facto win for the Chiefs. But the Bengals defense had one more stop in them. They intercepted Mahomes and the offense drove the ball down the field to beat the two time defending AFC Champions on McPherson’s 33 yard field goal.
The Bengals’ ‘Cinderella Story’ has gained a lot of attention, and now they head back to the Super Bowl for the first time in 33 years. They will play the Rams in SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, who had an amazing playoff run so far as well.
The Rams are headed back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2018, where the New England Patriots- then led by Tom Brady, defeated them 13-3. Since then the Rams have been “all-in”, trading draft picks left and right to make a super team. They brought in superstar cornerback Jalen Ramsey, linebacker Von Miller, and then this past off-season, they solved their quarterback problem by trading two first round picks and more for former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. Stafford joined the team after being a great quarterback on a bad team and has been great this season for the Rams, despite dealing with lingering injuries. He threw for just under 5,000 yards, and threw 41 touchdowns. On offense, Stafford is surrounded by superstar wide receiver Cooper Kupp, Odell Beckham Jr., and a talented run game. The Rams also have a great defense, headlined by 3 time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Aaron Donald, and Ramsey, who is still one of the best corners in the game. The Rams said they were all in to win the Super Bowl this year, and are now 60 minutes away from fulfilling their dreams, and making all these trades worth it.
The Rams path in the playoffs was defeating past ghosts. In the Wild Card Round, they beat the Arizona Cardinals, who beat them 37-20 in early October, by absolutely dominating them, 34-11. The defense came up big in that game, holding Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray to no touchdowns and 2 interceptions. In the Divisional Round, the Rams had to take on the defending Super Bowl Champions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In that game, the Rams were winning 27-3, before an improbable comeback by Tom Brady made the game tied at 27 a piece with 42 seconds left. But then, Stafford went to work. He found Kupp twice and spiked the ball with four seconds left to set up the walk off field goal. Then in the NFC Championship Game, they had to face off against a San Francisco team that won their past six games against them. It seemed like it was about to be seven straight, as the 49ers were winning 17-7 in the 4th quarter. The Rams came storming back and with just under 2 minutes to play, kicked a field goal to lead 20-17. The crowd started coming back into the Rams favor, and the defense forced 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to throw an interception to seal the game. Stafford threw for 337 yards and the Rams became the first team in NFL history to host the Championship game and the Super Bowl in the same season, and will look to be the second team ever to win a Super Bowl in their own stadium since Tom Brady and the Bucs did it last year.
This should be a great game. Both quarterbacks have proven that they can lead their team in the biggest of moments, and both teams have great supporting casts. One major advantage that the Rams have in this matchup however, is their defensive line vs. the Bengals’ offensive line. This o-line has been very troublesome. In the Divisional Round, the Titans sacked Joe Burrow 9 times. Can the Bengals stop the ferocious pass rush of the Rams? How will Stafford perform in the biggest game of his career after being on a bad team for his whole career? Did McVay learn from his mistakes in the Super Bowl LIII matchup against the Patriots? Will the Rams have home-field advantage, or will Cincy fans show up in the masses? All the answers to these questions will decide who will hoist the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the game.
The Bengals and Rams were not the two teams that a lot of people envisioned going to the Super Bowl this year, but here we are. Will it be Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ feel good underdog story, or will it be the “all-in” Rams in their home stadium?
