Keys to victory for Super Bowl LVI

Courtesy of Robb Carr

The Super Bowl beckons. 

The AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals take on the NFC Champion Los Angeles Rams from SoFi Stadium in Super Bowl LVI. The Rams are the second consecutive team to play a Super Bowl in their home stadium, and are looking for their second Lombardi Trophy. The Bengals are back in the Super Bowl for the first time since 1988, and a win would seal their first ever championship in franchise history. 

This year's Super Bowl matchup is as unlikely as it could be. For the first time in NFL history, a pair of fourth seeds will square off in the Super Bowl. It is just the second matchup in league history between former number one overall picks. Nonetheless, this year's Super Bowl features a pair of top-10 passing offenses, and some of the most exciting talents the NFL has to offer, and presents a fitting finale for what has been one of the most unpredictable seasons in league history. 

The Rams open as four point favorites with kickoff looming, but the game will be influenced by a number of factors. Below, we will break down the keys to victory for both teams, and pinpoint the matchups to watch out for on Super Bowl Sunday, as well as a score prediction. 

For previous Super Bowl content, check out our older articles from the archive!

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In their own backyard 

No player will be under more pressure to step up on Super Bowl Sunday than Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford. The Rams sent two first round picks, a third rounder, as well as former starting quarterback Jared Goff just to acquire the former Detroit Lion. Head coach Sean McVay maximized Goff's talents in their four seasons together in Los Angeles, but the Rams acquired Stafford fully believing that they were significantly upgrading at the position. McVay, the Rams front office, and Stafford's teammates fully believe and expect that he can lead the Rams to the promiseland. This is exactly the game that Stafford was brought in Los Angeles to play and win.

Stafford has delivered when it has mattered most this postseason, tossing six touchdown passes to just one interception, and led back-to-back game-winning drives in the Divisional Round and NFC Championship. He has protected the football far more efficiently than he did down the stretch of the regular season, when he threw eight interceptions in his last four games. In the postseason, he has completed 73% of his passes for 302 yards per game. Stafford has the arm strength and the accuracy to dice the Bengals secondary, as long as he avoids erratic decision-making with the football. He won't have to look far for a spark in the passing game.

Cooper Kupp played one of the greatest seasons for a wide receiver of all-time, finishing with the second-most catches and receiving yards in a single season. He is just the fourth receiver ever to earn the triple crown in receiving, leading the NFL in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. He has built on a stellar regular season with phenomenal postseason performances, scoring four touchdowns on 25 receptions. The Bengals will not have an answer for Kupp, who can break out from the slot, get loose on the perimeter, and dominate on third downs and red zone possessions. Kupp is phenomenal gaining yards after catch, and is a touchdown machine. 

Courtesy of Ronald Martinez

Alongside Kupp on the outside, Odell Beckham, Jr. could be LA's secret ingredient to victory. After being released by the Browns in November, Beckham signed a one-year deal with the Rams, eyeing a championship. Beckham is Stafford's downfield threat, and a menace in space with the ball in his hands. He is Kupp's reliever for explosive plays when he finds himself lined up against man coverage. 

If the Rams opt to slow the pace of the game down on the ground, Cam Akers is the workhorse to do it. After recovering from an Achilles injury in just six months, Akers is back on the field and is just as electric in space as he was pre-injury. He has carried the ball 54 times already this postseason, and will be called on early and often to lighten Stafford's nerves. 

Defensively, the Rams are confident that star corner Jalen Ramsey can lock down rookie sensation Ja'Marr Chase on the outside. Ramsey is as stout a cover corner the league has to offer, and containing the explosive Bengals offense will be crucial to a win. But it hasn't mattered for Ramsey, whether the receiver is a dominant power forward, or a track star, he has answered the call when he is matched up on a star receiver. Up front, the Rams defensive line will be licking their lips at the prospect of sending rushers at Joe Burrow. The Bengals have given up 64 sacks through the regular and postseason, while the Rams defense has tallied 57 of their own on the season. Cincinnati's offensive line is the weakest positional group across both teams this Super Bowl, and the two-headed monster of Aaron Donald and Von Miller is more than capable of seizing the mismatch. 

With a win, McVay could become the youngest Super Bowl champion head coach in NFL history at 36 years old. When he was 33 years old, he was bested by Bill Belichick in Super Bowl LIII, seeing his top scoring offense stifled by the New England Patriots in a 13-3 defeat. McVay admitted after the fact that he was outcoached, and he had no answers for Belichick's defensive strategies. On his second chance at a Super Bowl, McVay's chance at redemption will be a compelling arc to follow. 

Under pressure

Raise your hand if you saw this coming. The Bengals are back in the Super Bowl for the first time since 1988, and have undergone as sensational a franchise transformation as any in the history of the league. In head coach Zac Taylor's first two seasons in Cincinnati, the Bengals won a combined six games, but went on to win the AFC North as well as three consecutive playoff games, breaking a 31-year drought in which the Bengals could not win a single playoff game. 

The Bengals have flashed championship resolve all postseason long, overcoming extenuating circumstances and moving on nonetheless. They outlasted the Tennessee Titans on the road despite surrendering nine sacks, and shocked the two-time AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium by rallying from a 21-3 first half deficit. Cincinnati's big-play offense complimented by resilient and opportunistic defense have thrust the Bengals to the biggest game in the land. 

Burrow is the first number one overall pick to lead his team to the Super Bowl within his first two seasons under center, coming off a torn ACL midseason last year. He also led the NFL in completion percentage (70.4%) and yards per attempt (8.9), an incomprehensible feat, and has already earned Comeback Player of the Year honors. But Burrow faces a daunting challenge to stand in the pocket and deliver under duress from two of the greatest pass rushers of this generation. 

Courtesy of Yahoo

Burrow has been brought to the ground thirteen times already this postseason, including nine sacks taken in the Divisional Round against the Titans. Cincinnati's offense is heavily predicated on Burrow's downfield aggression, and putting the ball in the hands of their three excellent receivers, including Offensive Rookie of the Year, Ja'Marr Chase. Burrow's former college teammate and current Bengals teammate has given the Bengals offense a dimension which has been missing since the days of A.J. Green. As a rookie, Chase broke franchise records for catches (81) and receiving yards (1,455), and is as fearsome a receiver in the NFL gaining yards after catch. The Rams allowed the most yards after catch in the NFL this season, which could thrust Chase into wide open real estate. 

With Ramsey shadowing Chase, Burrow is confident he can distribute the ball to receivers besides Chase, including Tee Higgins on the perimeter, and Tyler Boyd in the slot. Chase, Higgins, and Boyd each mounted over 800 yards on the season, and can carry the load when one is smothered by opposing secondaries. The Bengals want to air it out and give the threesome time to create downfield separation, but the Rams defensive front may have other ideas. 

Cincinnati will need to match L.A.'s intensity on defense with high-impact plays of their own. Trey Hendrickson on the defensive line will be paramount in disrupting the pocket and generating an inside push on Stafford. The Rams have flashed turnover-prone tendencies in the final quarter of the season and in a near collapse versus the Buccaneers, and Stafford's giveaways could be replicated if he has to hurry his throws. The Bengals defense can sneak up on the Rams, just as they did with three interceptions on Ryan Tannehill, and two turnovers with four sacks on Mahomes. 

Prediction: Cincinnati Bengals 13, Los Angeles Rams 37

Most Valuable Player: Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams

History tells us that defenses win championships, especially ferocious pass rushes. It was not that long ago that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense swarmed and harrassed Mahomes for four quarters in last year's Super Bowl. Miller singlehandedly sabotaged the 2015 Carolina Panthers offense in Super Bowl 50, and he has the opportunity to do it again, alongside Donald. Cincinnati's offensive line versus the Los Angeles defensive front is the most glaring mismatch in recent Super Bowl memory, and is bound to show so in epic fashion. The Bengals have not proven they can protect Burrow all season long, and it is impossible to believe that they can patch it up in time for the Super Bowl. 

Donald is the best player on the field for both teams. The 3-time Defensive Player of the Year will be chasing Burrow down all night long, and wrecking Cincinnati's game plan bit by bit. The Bengals can keep it close if they start fast with an early lead, but the Rams can crank up the heat and send blitz packages on passing downs if the Bengals are forced to play from behind. Both offenses have the firepower and playmaking ability to dismantle the defenses, but the Bengals offensive line is not built to cope with the pass rush that they are about to face. 

For the first time since 1999, the Rams will be Super Bowl champions. McVay will redeem himself from his Super Bowl failure in 2018, and Stafford will deliver on the challenge he accepted when the Rams gambled on him.