Didn't watch much football this year? We got you. Here's five big things to watch for in the big game.
You may hear a bit of a buzz about the quarterbacks. This is the second-ever matchup between first overall draft picks in a championship (the first being Peyton Manning/Cam Newton in 2015). Veteran Matthew Stafford spent eleven years essentially wasting his talents in Detroit, only to ascend to the Super Bowl in his first season with the Rams. Second year quarterback Joe Burrow has a Heisman Trophy and National Championship under his belt in college, and a Super Bowl victory would give him an unprecedented "triple crown" of awards.
Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase won rookie of the year honors and has wowed fans all year with his exciting deep-ball skills. If the Bengals have a shot in this game, Chase will have to be active in the explosive play department. Flip side? He will be covered by Rams elite defensive back Jalen Ramsey, one of the best in the league. The Chase/Ramsey battle will carry a lot of weight in the final score of the game.
Offensive Player of the Year, Rams wideout Cooper Kupp, has made highlight reel plays in almost every game since Stafford joined the crew. He achieved a rare triple crown himself this season, with his 145 receptions, 1947 yards, and 16 touchdowns all leading the NFL for receivers. If you want to bet on a guy to score twice in the Super Bowl, Kupp is your man. He seems impervious to coverage and his connection with Stafford is a thing for the history books already.
The Bengals middling offensive line versus the Rams elite pass rush is another key of the game. The Bengals haven't been able to protect Burrow as much as they would like during this playoff run, and they haven't seen a unit like the one they are about to face. Aaron Donald, Leonard Floyd, and the newly-acquired Von Miller wreaked havoc throughout the postseason against some of the best lines in the game and if they get after Burrow the young quarterback's postseason luck may finally run out.
For the first time in a long time, one of the keys to the game is...the kicker. Cincinnati rookie Evan McPhearson has been responsible for moving the Bengals forward in the playoffs with game winning/tying field goals as time expired in every postseason win they have achieved so far. Garnering a host of nicknames along the way, Money Mac's services are sure to be required if his team hopes to squeak out another improbable victory in their fairy-tale season.
Without Tom Brady in the Super Bowl, many casual football fans are left with no one to hate in the big game. Honestly, the two teams remaining are both fun to root for, it just depends on if you wish to see the well-deserving Stafford and his veteran crew take home a Lombardi in their twilight years, or the upstart Burrow with his youngest-ever Super Bowl team pull off the upset.
Predicting scores and game flow is stupid and nearly always wrong, but we're going to do it anyways. If you are looking at any bets to place on the game, here is our thoughts on how it will go.
The Rams got here with consistency. They protect their quarterback which in turn leads to offensive efficiency, and until someone can stop Cooper Kupp from destroying coverage over the middle, the Rams are going to score points. The Bengals got here essentially with moxie. They were second only to Seattle in regular season big plays (plays over 25 yards), and that continued into each playoff game where they used field-stretching rockets to crawl out of first-half deficits.
Expect the Ram's consistency to grind away at the Bengal's defense in the first half. A halftime score of 17-6 favoring LA is not out of the question, but expect the Bengal's big shots to land in the second half once the Ram's defense gets winded. Burrow and company have the tools to make the game close in the fourth quarter, but I expect the Rams to be able to hold off the late advances and secure the victory for Matthew Stafford.
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