We are just a week away from the Super Bowl and everybody is excited to see who will emerge as the next champions. The Cincinnati Bengals have never won a championship in their franchise’s extended history, but they could break that streak with a huge win over the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams lost the Super Bowl a few years ago under Sean McVay. The young coach wants to get himself and his players a ring by the end of this matchup.
The Los Angeles Rams are surprisingly the second team in the last two years to make it into the big game in their own stadium. However, home field advantage may not provide much assistance to them after San Francisco 49ers fans took over SoFi last weekend. The Rams are definitely the favourites to win this game and for good reason. Matthew Stafford is a great quarterback that always keeps his team around and is known to be excellent when the game is on the line. He is grouped up with Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham out there in the passing game to make his job a lot easier. In the backfield, this team has Cam Akers and Sony Michel. Although, they haven’t performed well throughout the playoffs. Flipping over to the defensive side of things, the Rams have star power all over the place. They have arguably the best cornerback in football with Jalen Ramsey defending half the field on any given play. Then they have the flat out best defensive tackle in the league with Aaron Donald. If that wasn’t scary enough, then what if I told you that Von Miller was playing alongside Donald and makes it impossible to double team them both? Well, that is the reality of this situation. Finally, we have to mention Eric Weddle. He came out of retirement to join them in the playoffs and the safety already got into the groove. He led the team with nine tackles last week.
Are the Bengals Destined for Glory?
As for the Cincinnati Bengals, it seems like they are destined to win. They aren’t the most talented team in the world, but they have this type of swagger and confidence that always evens them up with their opponents. In just his second year, Joe Burrow has proven that he is one of the best leaders in the NFL. He also has a wonderful trio of wide receivers to throw the ball to in Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd. Similar to the Rams, the Bengal’s run game hasn’t been very good throughout the postseason, but Joe Mixon is a strong runner and is due for a good game. As for their defense, their offseason acquisitions are proving to be money well spent. Trey Hendrickson broke the franchise record for sacks in a season and is already getting into the backfield. Vonn Bell and Jessie Bates are also a stellar safety duo to help over the top. Even lesser-known players like Logan Wilson are massive contributors to the team.
Everybody seems to be rolling with the Rams here because of their star power and their overall talent. However, I am in favour of the Bengals this time around. Everything just seems to be going their way and how could we doubt Burrow and Cincinnati now after this incredible run?
*The action starts after midnight on Sunday 13th February into the early hours of Monday morning (UK time). The game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports as well as streaming on the BBC iPlayer.