The Los Angeles Rams will take the field at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, February 13 to face the Cincinnati Bengals for the title of World Champions, their first chance to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy since relocating to Southern California. In a strange twist, the Rams, who play regular-season home games at SoFi, will be suiting up as the visiting team.
The Rams are led on offense by former first-round pick Matthew Stafford, who spent the bulk of his 12-year career with the Detroit Lions. In exchange for Stafford, the Rams traded first-round draft picks in 2022 and 2023, a third-round pick in 2021, and quarterback Jared Goff, the Rams’ first-round pick in 2016.
The trade was viewed with skepticism at the time, as Stafford had gotten Detroit to the postseason but had not found success. The Lions managed to make the playoffs only three times during his tenure and lost all three Wild Card games. Stafford has quieted the critics this season, leveling his playoff record with three consecutive wins to propel the Rams into the Super Bowl.
The Cincinnati Bengals franchise has long been one of the bottom-dwellers in the NFL. Their last appearance in a Super Bowl was in 1988, falling to the San Francisco 49ers, 20-16. They returned to the playoffs again in 1990, only to be eliminated in the Divisional Round. The season would mark the last playoff victory the team would experience until 2021.
A significant factor in the team’s turnaround has been the record-setting play of second-year quarterback Joe Burrow. Burrow set fire to NFL rookie records his first year, only to suffer a major knee injury in Week 11 that ended his season. He came back in 2022 and set franchise records for most passing yards and touchdowns in a season while leading the NFL in completion percentage and yards-per-completion.
His favorite target has been receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who was named Offensive Rookie Player of the Year this season. Chase accumulated 1,495 yards and 13 touchdowns and was also featured as a runner a handful of times. He set several NFL rookie records and Bengals’ franchise records over the 2021 season.
Burrow also led the NFL this season in the number of times he was sacked with a total of 51, a stat that may pay dividends during Super Bowl LVI.
The Rams’ defense is led by superstar defensive tackle Aaron Donald. Donald is a disruptive force who regularly draws double-teams at the line of scrimmage. Not only does this free up teammates, Donald still gets home. He recorded 12.5 sacks during the 2021 regular season and added 1.5 sacks in the three postseason games.
The Rams lost Super Bowl LIII to the New England Patriots due in part to their offense’s ability to prevent Donald from being effective. Not only will the Bengals need to find an answer for Donald, but they will also have to contend with Von Miller and Leonard Floyd, both of whom recorded 9.5 sacks this season. The Bengals defense will also need to give Burrow & Co. opportunities by slowing down the monstrous ability of Stafford and Rams receiver Cooper Kupp to blow close games wide open.
Kupp led the NFL in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns in 2021 and was named NFC Offensive Player of the Month in both September and October.
A major reason for the break-out success Kupp has experienced in his fifth year in the league has been the dynamic rushing duo of Darell Henderson Jr. and Sony Michel.
The Rams believed they had lost their number one running back, Cam Akers, after he suffered an achilles tear before the start of the season, but he managed to return in time to participate in the Divisional Round and the Championship Game.
The Rams entered the 2021 Playoffs as the NFC number one seed and defeated the San Francisco 49ers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to get to Super Bowl LVI.
The Bengals came into the competition as the forth seed in the AFC and faced the Los Vegas Raiders in a wild overtime game before defeating the number-one-seeded Tennessee Titans to earn the team’s first-ever road playoff victory. Cincinnati got to the Super Bowl by defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in a playoff game already viewed as one of the greatest games ever played.
Super Bowl LVI will kick off at 5:30 p.m. CT from Los Angeles, California. The halftime show will feature Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, and Mary J. Blige.
