Super Bowl Preview!

The Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals will meet up on Sunday, February 13, for Super Bowl LVI. It’s not the matchup most would have predicted, not even two weeks ago before the conference championship games. The Bengals have been underdogs going back to the preseason, and they’re 4.5-point underdogs in this game. But they just keep finding ways to win, and they can do it again for the Super Bowl. Here’s how.

Bengals offense: What they need to do vs. Rams defense

The most important, and most obvious, thing for the Bengals to do is stop the Rams’ pass rush, particularly Aaron Donald. At the very least, they have to limit the damage he can do. The Bengals offensive line let quarterback Joe Burrow get sacked nine times against the Titans in the Divisional round, and they gave up 16 pressures against the Chiefs. It’s impossible to take away the Rams’ pass rush entirely, but the Bengals can beat them with quick throws from Joe Burrow.

Fortunately for Cincinnati, Burrow has excelled at getting the ball out with all haste this season. With Tee Higgins running quick slants and tight end CJ Uzomah working into the middle, he’s usually got a ready option to throw to. The Rams defense tends to be vulnerable in the middle of the field too, which gives Burrow another edge on quick passes. Burrow is also playing well under pressure. Against the Chiefs, he completed seven of 12 throws under pressure. He’s a smart scrambler too. In the AFC Championship, Burrow converted three third downs with his legs.

Another key to beating the Rams defense will be keeping them off balance with the running game. Joe Mixon has done more than just keep the chains moving. In their last game, against Kansas City, he finished with 88 yards on 21 carries. He’s not putting up the kind of numbers you’d want to see in a fantasy league, but Mixon will be crucial to keeping the Rams defense on its toes, ultimately, giving the passing game more breathing room.

Bengals defense: Keys to limit Rams offense

Sure, Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense gets all the attention, but let’s not overlook the fact that the most impressive thing Cincinnati did against the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game was to limit Patrick Mahomes and Co. to just three points in the second half. That started with clamping down on Tyreek Hill, and they’ll need to do that again in the Super Bowl with Cooper Kupp.

An excellent route runner with an offense scheme that gets him freed up to make catches, the Bengals will want to keep Kupp in man coverage as much as possible. That means he’ll be seeing a lot of Mike Hilton. One of the best slot corners in the game right now; it was Hilton who kept Hill tied up against the Chiefs. He’s got one interception and four passes defended in the playoffs so far. Hilton’s also got a track record against Kupp. Back in 2019, when he was still with the Steelers, Hilton shadowed Kupp during a Week 10 game, holding him catchless on four targets.

Turnovers have been another key part of the Bengals’ defensive approach. They picked off Mahomes twice in the AFC Championship, including on the Chiefs’ first overtime possession, which pushed them to the win. They’ve had seven takeaways in the playoffs so far, tied with Tampa Bay for the most, and they have a +5 turnover differential heading into the Super Bowl. They’ll need to make the world remember Matthew Stafford’s interception struggles that plagued the Rams during the middle of the regular season.

Los Angeles Rams path to winning Super Bowl 56 vs. Cincinnati Bengals

The Los Angeles Rams are making their second Super Bowl appearance in four years, and this time, they look like a team that means business. Favored by 4.5 points, they’ve got just about everything going for them, even home-field advantage since Super Bowl LVI is happening at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Despite the edge, they can’t afford to take anything for granted against an underdog Cincinnati Bengals team that was never supposed to be here. Here’s what the Rams will need to do to win the game.

Rams offense: What they need to do vs. Bengals defense

It sounds simple, but it’s worth repeating—don’t turn the ball over. The Rams got off to a rough start against the 49ers in the NFC Championship. Quarterback Matthew Stafford had a pass tipped on the opening drive that resulted in an interception. The 49ers weren’t able to turn that into points, but the Bengals certainly could with the way their offense is playing. Cincinnati’s defense has been pretty good in the turnover department through the postseason too. They’re tied for the most takeaways of any post season team, with seven, and boast a +5 turnover differential.

All eyes are on Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp heading into this one, and why not, he’s been incredible week in and week out, one of the most exciting players in the game right now. However, the Bengals did an excellent job taking speedy Tyreek Hill out of the game plan for the Chiefs, and with slot corner Mike Hilton shadowing Kupp, they could do something similar against the Rams. So Los Angeles is going to have to lean on their other pass catchers a little more, starting with Odell Beckham, who’s coming off his first 100-yard+ performance since 2019.

Keep the Bengals defense honest with an aggressive ground game is another part of the plan. It’s no secret that Rams head coach Sean McVay likes to throw the ball, but making gains on early downs with their running backs, will create favorable matchups in the middle of the field on third-and-short situations, where the Rams can employ a variety of pass catching options. If Darrell Henderson is cleared to play, that would be great news for the Rams offense, making it impossible for the Bengals to dial in their focus against LA’s passin game.

Rams defense: Keys to limit Bengals offense

This one is pretty obvious—rush the passer, rinse and repeat. The biggest mismatch in this game is the Rams defensive line against Cincinnati’s pressure-prone pass protectors. Led by Aaron Donald, the Rams defensive front had 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo scrambling for his life in the second half of the NFC Championship. They may not have recorded a sack, but they didn’t need to since Garoppolo was pressured on every single pass he tried to throw in the fourth quarter. That eventually resulted in an interception.

Sure, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is great against pressure—he completed seven of 12 attempts under pressure against the Chiefs—but the Rams pressure at an entirely different level than the Chiefs.

The flip side of having a pass rush like that is leaving the middle part of the field vulnerable to Burrow’s incredible ability to get the ball out quick. He made Tee Higgins a household name against the Chiefs with those quick slants. So on top of bringing the heat, they’ll have to protect themselves against those kind of plays when the pass rushers can’t get home against Burrow.