With only a few days remaining until the Super Bowl LVI, the stage is set for the Los Angeles Rams to go against the Cincinnati Bengals at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. This match will conclude a thrilling NFL postseason for the World Championship title on Sunday 13th February, with several compelling storylines headlining this year’s matchup.
The matchup takes place in one of the greatest playoff competitions in modern NFL history, with five straight matches decided by the final play. This year, Cincinnati became the second team in NFL playoff history to win an overtime match without taking the coin toss, giving fans an unexpected Super Bowl matchup.
The Rams have a chance to reverse their 13-3 defeat by the Patriots in the 2019 Super Bowl LIII, while the Bengals are hoping to get their first Super Bowl title. The Bengals came short during their first two Super Bowl games in the 1980s, but they’ve made history this year after winning their first playoff game in over three decades. Cincinnati also recorded their first road playoff win this year.
Here is a quick analysis of what NFL fans can expect from the 56th Edition of Super Bowl, with odds available at https://www.oddsshark.com/nfl/super-bowl/futures for sports punters.
Burrow Records a Triple Crown
A win over the LA Rams will make Joe Burrows the first quarter-final to win the Super Bowl title, a national championship, and the Heisman Trophy. Burrow threw 12 touchdowns without any interceptions for the Tigers’ postseason wins over Clemson and Oklahoma and he’s three years removed from taking LSU to the national championship.
NFL’s Youngest Coach to Take a Super Bowl Title
Since the LA Rams struck gold by hiring Sean McVay as the head coach in 2017, a wave of hiring young offensive minds in the NFL is on the rise. Some of the young innovative minds that have come into the NFL since 2017 include the Packers’ Matt LeFleur, Cincinnati’s Zac Taylor, and Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers.
Taylor and McVay are on the verge of making history this year when their two franchises battle it out on the Super Bowl LVI. The two will be the youngest coaching matchup to battle it out in the super bowl, with McVay being 36 years and Taylor at 38 years.
Cincinnati hired Taylor in 2019, after spending a few years in Los Angeles as McVay’s understudy. The Bengals head coach spent two years on McVay’s coaching staff, taking the role of an assistant wide receivers coach in the first year and being the quarterbacks’ coach in 2018.
If the Rams are victorious in Super Bowl LVI, Sean McVay will be the youngest NFL coach to claim the Lombardi Trophy, while Taylor stands the chance to be the second-youngest coach if the Bengals win. The Steelers Mike Tomlin is the current record holder of the youngest coach to win the Super Bowl, achieving the feat at 36 years and 11 months.
Home-Field Advantage
While the Bengals are the designated home team for this matchup, the Rams will make history at the SoFi Stadium on Sunday. The Rams will be the first NFL team to host the conference title match and the Super Bowl game in one postseason. They will also be the second team to host the Super Bowl on their home ground while participating in the tournament, with the Buccaneers being the first team in 2021.
This season, the Rams have a record of 7-3 at home ground and 8-2 while on the road. The Rams aren’t a squad that performs better at home and the Bengals aren’t rattled when they’re on the road, as proven by their 7-3 away record.
The Rams players will have the benefit of sleeping in their beds ahead of the match, but they’ll also be dealing with distractions from fans, family, and friends. However, the Bengals will get to shut down all that stuff and they’ll have all the comfort they’d want, considering they’re the home team. As such, the Rams don’t have a significant home advantage, despite being a 4.5-point favorite.
Battle of No. 1 Quarterbacks
Cincinnati’s quarterback Joe Burrows will go head-to-head with Los Angeles’ Mathew Stafford in a showdown with a unique distinction as they were both selected No. 1 in the NFL draft. This is the second time that such a matchup is happening, with Denver Broncos and Peyton Manning being the first pair in the 2016 Super Bowl 50.
After a successful college career at Georgia, Stafford was picked as the first overall pick by the Detroit Lions during the 2009 NFL draft before being traded to the Rams a year ago. Burrows was chosen as Cincinnati’s first overall pick in 2020 after a historic performance at LSU, where he led the Tigers to the national championship and won the Heisman Trophy.
