Rams vs. Bengals: Winner and Score Predictions for Super Bowl 56
The Los Angeles Rams will host the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium in suburban Los Angeles for Super Bowl 56, despite the AFC representative technically being the home team this year.
The battle between the driven, veteran Rams squad and the carefree young team headed by quarterback Joe Burrow will be the first Super Bowl in 20 seasons not to feature Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger or the San Francisco 49ers, bringing a freshness to the premier game it needed.
But who walks away with the world championship?
Is it the Bengals, here against all odds and expectations? They knocked off four-time AFC Championship participants the Kansas City Chiefs to earn their way to LA and the biggest game of their lives, fueled by the unshakable demeanor of second-year QB Burrow and dynamic wideout Ja'Marr Chase.
Or is the Rams, a team made up of veteran players and unknowns who embody the grit, toughness and a next-man-up mentality?
On paper, the answer seems fairly obvious but there is one match-up in particular that could be the difference between the Rams and head coach Sean McVay's euphoric moment and the crowning of a new king of the jungle in Burrow and Co.
Viewing Information
Super Bowl 56
When: Sunday, February 13
Where: SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles
Kickoff: 6:30
Channel: NBC, Telemundo
Streaming: Peacock, NBCSports.com
Halftime Performers: Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige
The Match-Up: Cincinnati's Defense vs. Los Angeles' Pass Offense
It will be strength-on-strength in Los Angeles for the most important game of the year as the Rams ride a high-powered passing game into the Super Bowl against the Bengals' ball-hawking defense.
Lost in all of the underdog and comeback talk for the Bengals is a defense that has helped them defy odds and make it to the grandest stage of them all so early in the team's development.
It starts with ends Sam Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson and defensive tackle BJ Hill. They have fueled a pass rush responsible for eight sacks this postseason. Pressuring the opposing QB creates opportunities for turnovers, of which the team has seven in three playoff games.
Six of them are interceptions.
Safety Jessie Bates III anchors a ball-hawking secondary on full display in the closing moments of the AFC Championship when Von Bell picked off a Patrick Mahomes pass intended for Tyreek Hill. Those two join cornerbacks Eli Apple, Chidobe Awuzie and Mike Hilton in disrupting passing games and getting the ball back for their offense.
The biggest test for them will be bating Matthew Stafford into a bad pass or a tipped ball, much in the same way San Francisco did early in the NFC Championship game. The Rams quarterback has been otherwise outstanding in the playoffs, avoiding the costly mistakes that had some doubting whether he was really an upgrade over former signal-caller Jared Goff during the team's three-game losing streak earlier in the season.
Stafford has four pick-sixes in 20 games this season.
If Hendrickson, Hubbard and Hill can disrupt his momentum, there will be opportunities for the Bengals secondary to make plays on the ball.
Big plays that score points and win games.
Should they do that, and the offense can play with the fearlessness it has at times this postseason, the Bengals will have an opportunity to pull off a massive upset and earn the franchise its first Super Bowl title.
Prediction and Score for Super Bowl 56
If Stafford has a clean game and does not turn the ball over against the Bengals, the Rams will win Super Bowl 56.
The veteran quarterback has thrived on the big moments thus far in the postseason, delivering when his team needed it the most. His 40-yard bomb to Cooper Kupp to set up the game-winning field game in the divisional round prevented an all-time bad collapse.
His heroics in the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship game, which saw him bring the Rams back from a 10-point deficit to exorcise the demon that was their six-game losing streak against that team, reflected a gutsy player willing to put the team on his back in the high-pressure situations and carry them to the promised land.
With six touchdowns, completing 72-percent of his passes and a 9.1 average per pass, he is playing lights out football. That he has been able to find other playmakers besides all-world wideout Kupp has certainly helped.
What this Rams team is and has accomplished goes beyond the feel-good story of their QB, though.
Kupp has continued his historic year with 25 receptions, 386 yards and four TDs. Odell Beckham Jr. has found his role on the team and produced his best game in three years. With no other tight ends available, Kendall Blanton stepped up with a five-catch, 57-yard performance against San Francisco.
Continuing the next-man-up mentality was the defense, where players like Nick Scott and Travin Howard stepped up to make crucial plays. Eric Weddle returned from retirement to contribute in stopping the run game and ensuring Jimmy Garoppolo would have to try and beat them.
The much-maligned quarterback could not.
If the Rams can either slow the pass rush or take advantage on the opportunities it will present, as Stafford has shown he can do when presented with pressure, they will hoist the Lombardi on February 13.
Look for them to do just that.
Prediction: Rams 27, Bengals 23