Picking Super Bowl LVI

When and how did the Bengals suddenly become America's Team?  Is it because they beat the Chiefs (who are suddenly the most hated team in America, also for reasons I don't quite understand)?  Is it because they're the underdog?  Is it because they used to suck and are now randomly in the Super Bowl?  Is it just because it's somebody new?  Anyway, whatever it is, I don't get it.

I'm not trying to rain on the Bengals' parade here.  I just wonder why the majority of the country isn't just rooting for Cincinnati, but also thinks they'll win...despite the fact that everything points to a Rams victory.  There's a difference between wanting a team to win and actually thinking they will.  Most of America seems to have forgotten that.

Because if America was thinking with their heads instead of their hearts, there's no way anyone would realistically be giving Cincinnati a shot.  Vegas installed the Rams as the favorite for a reason, after all!  Of course, the Bengals beat both of the AFC's top two seeds on the road to get here, so why should a third consecutive playoff road game faze them at all?

However, what the Bengals bandwagon seems to be ignoring is how good the Los Angeles Rams are.  This team had a singular mission this season.  They wanted to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in their new billion-dollar football palace.  It was truly Super Bowl or bust.  That's why they don't have any draft picks.  That's why they went out and got so many veteran stars during the season.  It was for this moment.

The Rams achieving that goal shouldn't really be a surprise, either.  Other than a little blip in the middle of the season, they were consistently among the top teams not just in the NFC, but in the entire NFL all year!  And, let's not forget, all five of their losses this season were against playoff teams, two of whom are division rivals that they beat when they played a third time in the playoffs.

How they won the NFC Championship Game was really encouraging, too.  They were playing the hated 49ers, a team that's been a thorn in their side ever since they moved back to LA.  They were down and the offense had been shut down all game.  Then they scored 13 points in the fourth quarter and sealed the game with an interception to clinch that "trip" to the party they're hosting (even though they're technically the visiting team).  It really was an impressive effort!

Of course, the same thing could be said for what the Bengals did in the second half of the AFC Championship Game.  Say what you want about the Chiefs' decision not to kick the field goal at the end of the first half.  They still led 21-10.  Then the Bengals defense held them to just a field goal the rest of the way and intercepted Mahomes on the first possession of overtime, where their automatic kicker sent them to Hollywood.

And it would be quite the Hollywood ending should they win.  Joe Burrow, of course, has won a lot, including that National Championship at LSU.  That's why the Bengals took him No. 1 overall last year, and you already got the sense the franchise was turning around when he was unfortunately lost for the season.  The fact that they made it here in Year 2, the first where Burrow was completely healthy is further proof that they found their franchise quarterback.

Burrow made it to the Super Bowl faster than any quarterback taken No. 1 overall, and he joins a very short list of QB's to get there in their second season (Dan Marino, Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Burrow...that's the list).  The other QB taken No. 1 overall playing in this game has taken a much longer journey.  Matthew Stafford toiled through years of losing in Detroit before being traded to the Rams in the offseason.  In his first season in LA, he can write a Hollywood ending of his own.

For a Rams team desperate to redeem itself after being embarrassed in the Super Bowl three years ago, Stafford is the biggest difference.  Would they be playing in this game if Jared Goff was still their quarterback?  Perhaps.  But they felt Stafford was an upgrade, and the trade has certainly worked out for them so far.

It's not just Stafford and his favorite target, Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp, though.  It's also that suffocating defense, led by sack master Aaron Donald and cover corner extraordinaire Jalen Ramsey.  And, frankly, that Rams defense is the biggest reason why I think LA wins the game.  I simply don't see the Cincinnati offensive line finding a way to stop both Donald AND Von Miller.  Then, you put Ramsey on Ja'Marr Chase and make somebody else beat you.

Simply put, the Rams are the better team and they're playing at home.  Of course, that was also true about the Titans and Chiefs, and we saw what happened there.  However, Tennessee's weakness was its offense and Kansas City's defense was a problem all year, and Cincinnati was able to exploit both to perfection.  The Rams are good on both sides of the ball, though, so it'll be difficult to completely stop them.

That home game thing can't be discounted, either.  As we saw last year, that's such a huge advantage.  The Rams have hardly gone anywhere in a month.  And they're in their normal routine.  Yes, it's the Super Bowl, but they've been sleeping in their own beds and practicing at their own facility.  Plus, a lot of their players did this three years ago, so they know what to expect.  None of which is true about Cincinnati.  This is all new for the Bengals.

So, there you have it.  America may want the Bengals to win, but that doesn't mean they will.  I think it'll be the Rams.  Cincinnati's day will come, but not yet.  It's the home team that'll get the Hollywood ending.