Super Bowl LVI: Rams and Bengals set for an unlikely matchup

Los Angeles, California – The Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals will face off in Super Bowl LVI on Sunday in a matchup that few could have predicted at the start of the NFL season.

Super Bowl LVI will pit Matthew Stafford (r.) and the Rams against Joe Burrow (l.) and the Bengals.
Super Bowl LVI will pit Matthew Stafford (r.) and the Rams against Joe Burrow (l.) and the Bengals.  © Collage: IMAGO/Icon SMI & ZUMA Wire

When you think of Super Bowl contenders, the Rams and the Bengals probably aren't the teams that first come to mind.

Yet here both are, heading to Super Bowl LVI on Sunday. Having fought their way through setbacks and a wild playoff run, the Bengals and the Rams have come out on top.

The game will highlight two no-quit quarterbacks in Matthew Stafford and Joe Burrow going head-to-head, and it's bound to be one to remember.

With Stafford at the reins, the Rams seem to have quickly picked up where former QB Jared Goff left them. Only this time, the Rams are hoping to leave their home field of SoFi Stadium as Super Bowl champions – a job Goff was never able to complete.

Throughout the 2021 season, Stafford had 23.76 completions and threw for 287.4 yards per game.

If the Rams want a chance at coming out of Super Bowl Sunday victorious, they'll have to figure out how to handle the Bengals defense, particularly defensive tackles B.J. Hill and D.J. Reader.

With weapons on offense like wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and running back Cam Akers, the Rams should have no problem getting the ball in the end zone.

Joe Burrow and the can't stop, won't stop Bengals

SoFi Stadium totes its Super Bowl LVI makeover ahead of Sunday's game.
SoFi Stadium totes its Super Bowl LVI makeover ahead of Sunday's game.  © Imago/UPI Photo

On the other hand, you have the Bengals, a franchise that hasn't had a Super Bowl appearance since 1988. After being drafted by the team in 2020, Burrow spent the better half of his first pro season recovering from both an ACL and MCL injury in his left knee.

Now, Burrow and the Bengals are out for vengeance, and if there's anything the Ohio native's time at LSU showed the football world, it's that nothing can stand in between Burrow and whatever he sets his mind to.

This time, Burrow's got his sights set on walking away from SoFi Stadium as a Super Bowl champion in his second year in the NFL.

Garnering an average of 288.2 passing yards and 22.88 completions per game during the 2021 season, Burrow stacks up quite fairly to his QB competition in Stafford.

Burrow and the Bengals' offensive weapons in wide receivers Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, and Ja’Marr Chase have a chance of coming out on top, but it might depend on how well the O-line holds up against a hungry Rams defense.

During the Bengals' postseason matchup against the Tennessee Titans, Burrow was sacked a total of nine times, tying the NFL record for most sacks in a postseason game.

While the Bengals once had the fifth-worst record in the league this season, the team, like its quarterback, has no quit in them, and their impending Super Bowl appearance is proof of that.

The Rams are favored to win the big game by 3.5 points, but the playoffs showed sports fans that anything can happen – even in the final 13 seconds of a game.

Who knows, maybe the Super Bowl winner will be crowned by yet another walk-off field goal.

Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO/Icon SMI & ZUMA Wire

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