Who would have thought?
After 272 regular season and 12 post-season match-ups we have our two teams vying to win the Super Bowl: the AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals and the NFC champion Los Angeles Rams.
No one would have predicted this match-up, and in possibly the greatest post-season the NFL has ever had, it showed how open and even this year’s playoffs were after the four favourites, the NFC’s No.1 seed and my beloved Green Bay Packers, defending champions Tampa Bay, last year’s AFC champions Kansas City and the dangerous and highly respected Buffalo Bills all lost in surprising fashion.
The Rams enter the Super Bowl as favourites after defeating NFC West rivals Arizona and San Francisco, as well as defending champions Tampa Bay in the playoffs, and will look to win the franchise’s first Super Bowl since 1999 and first since moving back to LA.
Cincinnati are the Cinderella story. After finishing in last place in their division last season with four wins and having the No.1 overall pick the season before that after a two-win campaign, no one expected the Bengals to make the playoffs or win their first playoff game since 1990 and yet here they are, behind the remarkable play of quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
The Bengals did it the hard way as the AFC’s fourth seed, having to defeat a resilient Las Vegas Raiders team at home before heading out on the road to defeat the AFC’s No.1 seed in Tennessee in a game Burrow was sacked nine times and into Arrowhead Stadium to defeat Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs for the second time in a month.
(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
This year’s Super Bowl, which kicks off on Monday at 10:30am AEDT, will be held in LA at SoFi Stadium. The new multi-billion-dollar stadium the Rams call home will host the game for the first time after opening in 2020 and will mark the second year in a row a home team will be playing in the Super Bowl in their own building after Tampa Bay made and won the Super Bowl last year at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
Key match-ups
Jalen Ramsey vs Ja’Marr Chase
Superstar record-breaking rookie up against the league’s best corner: this is the marquee match-up in this year’s Super Bowl. Ja’Marr Chase set all kinds of records this season after being taken fifth overall in last year’s NFL draft including NFL records in receiving yards in a game by a rookie (266), receiving yards in a post-season by a rookie (279) and receiving yards in a season including post-season by a rookie (1734).
He already has an argument for being the third best WR in football after Davante Adams and Cooper Kupp, who will be on the opposing sideline in Super Bowl LVI.
Aaron Donald vs Bengals offensive line
The best defensive player since Lawrence Taylor (and yes, that includes Deion Sanders and Ray Lewis), Donald might go down one day as the greatest defensive player in NFL history. After another 1st Team All-Pro season with 12.5 sacks, 19 TFLs and a 93.6 PFF grade, he will be hoping to bring the pressure against a Bengals offensive line who allowed Burrow to be sacked 51 times, more than any other QB in the NFL this season.
Matthew Stafford vs Joe Burrow
The first time two QBs who were drafted first overall will go face to face in a Super Bowl. The Rams will be hoping Stafford can lead them to the promise land after trading a haul for him last off-season, including first round selections in 2022 and 2023, along with QB Jared Goff and a 2021 third round pick.
Joe Burrow has become a transcendental, franchise quarterback in just his second season and is looking to become the first QB to win a Heisman Trophy, College Football National Championship and a Super Bowl.
Sean McVay vs Zac Taylor
The master up against the apprentice, Taylor was hired away from Los Angeles in 2019 after serving as McVay’s QBs coach. Taylor will be looking to replicate what Kirby Smart did in the 2022 National Championship game as his Georgia Bulldogs triumphed over former mentor Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide.
Final thoughts
Los Angeles enters this game full of confidence in their own building with a roster full of stars and deserve to be favourites but Cincinnati, behind the brilliance of Joe Burrow, have to feel like this incredible post-season run will take them all the way to Super Bowl glory.
My prediction
Burrow and Chase lead a late drive down the field to set up Evan McPherson’s game-winning FG as the city of Cincinnati celebrates its first ever Super Bowl title.
CIN: 34
LA: 31
.kraM
Roar Rookie
CLE? Right state, wrong city. Just try calling a Cincinnatian a Browns fan :laughing:
PeterCtheThird
Guest
Dear Mr Fish, thank you for your forecast. Serious question: why do you and every other writer about American football talk about quarterbacks “going head to head” when the one thing they never do is be on the field at the same time? You talk about this wide receiver against that safety, this centre against that nose tackle, perfectly sensibly because it’s off-fence against dee-fence, all good, it’s just the quarterback thing. A bit like talking about a third baseman going head to head with the other third baseman. Strange.
Rob9
Roar Guru
Obviously there’s a lot of people who hate the Rams (more-so Stan Kroenke), but I don’t really have a problem with them so I wouldn’t be devastated if they win. The Bengals story is pretty special though so I’ll be on the bandwagon on Monday morning. We’ve just come off 6 rippers so like you say… hopefully we have a 7th!
Jake Fish
Roar Rookie
100% either way i'm happy with who wins, love Burrow n Chase and love a city going for it's first title but i'm a LA sports fan in everything else so a championship parade in the city of angels is something i'm always happy with. Fun fact the name Joe has been the 2nd most common SB QB name ever. The first, Tom.
Jake Fish
Roar Rookie
Yeah always interesting these side coaching plots, let's see who can out plan and out score the other. Biggest reason either team will win will be because of that Rams DLine v Bengals OLine battle.
Jake Fish
Roar Rookie
Thanks mate, Leicester winning the PL at 1001-1 odds is something we probably never see again but this Bengals team would definitely be up there. Rams at home with that defensive front would make most feel the same as yourself but I’m backing in Burrow and Chase along with Higgins/Boyd/Mixon to put up points in a shootout in a stadium with a roof. Close game either way is hopefully what we see Monday.
Jake Fish
Roar Rookie
Appreciate it Rob, if you had asked me before the season/playoffs if a team with that bad of an OLine would win a game I would have laughed but here we are. I agree if you look at it from all angles it's more likely the Rams win but I'm not betting against Joe Brrr to lose as all he does he win and a Bengals team who is young and playing with nothing to lose. Hopefully we get a close game regardless.
Rob9
Roar Guru
Thanks Jake. Looking forward to this one. I think your 2nd match-up there is the key one and it really puts the Bengals behind the 8-ball. Clearly the man can take a hit and has ice in his veins (and apparently around his neck), but with the 3rd worst O-line in the league in front of him, I just can’t see Joey Franchise carrying this offense all the way on the biggest stage. It’d be a heck of a story but my head says a home team win with Donald and the Rams Defence populating Burrows nightmares for the next 7 months.
JGK
Roar Guru
Nice summary. If the Bengals win it would be up there with Leicester winning the EPL on 2016. I have to say, I can’t see the Bengals scoring 34 points.
JGK
Roar Guru
Burrow could become the first QB to win a Heisman, National title and Super Bowl.
no one in particular
Roar Guru
Donald and Miller against that CLE offensive line???? I think that is the difference, with too many CLE drives having 3rd and longs. Taylor is looking to do to McVay what McVay did to Shanahan last week
XI
Roar Guru
This is a Superbowl where I don't mind who wins. Both are deserving winners so I just hope it's a close and exciting game. Funny tidbit: the two QBs to have won a college football national championship and a Superbowl before now are Joe Namath and Joe Montana. If Joe Burrow joins them it will make Joe the go-to name for aspiring quarterbacks everywhere