Happy Super Bowl Sunday! It’s a star-studded matchup in the city that’s always full of stars, Los Angeles. For the second straight year, a Super Bowl team has played in their home stadium (Tampa Bay last year). It was unprecedented until last year and now it’s happened two straight years. We have two very differently built teams.
For the Rams, they built their team through transactions in an “all-in” mode. Jalen Ramsey was acquired in a trade with the Jaguars, Von Miller was traded from the Broncos, Matthew Stafford was traded from the Lions, Eric Weddle came out of retirement to play with the Rams, and Odell Beckham Jr. signed with them after being waived by the Browns. The only two star players today for the Rams that were drafted by them are Aaron Donald and Cooper Kupp, who have been phenomenal this season. The offensive line, led by Andrew Whitworth, is the strongest. They are strong on both sides of the line of scrimmage, and it will be a tough task for the Bengals in order to beat them.
Speaking of the Bengals, they went the building route the way I like to: drafting. They have a superstar combination of Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, both drafted by the Bengals out of LSU. Jessie Bates is underrated as a defensive back coming out of Wake Forest. I loved the draft pick of Tee Higgins out of Clemson, Tyler Boyd out of Pittsburgh. They have the better WR depth, but not by much. Joe Mixon is the top running back to watch in the Super Bowl, out of Oklahoma. Trey Hendrickson is the only notable player that wasn’t drafted by the Bengals (drafted by the Saints). He is the most disruptive player on the Bengals’ defensive front and will need to make key plays against a tough Rams’ offensive line. Both kickers have been clutch (Rams’ Matt Gay the other), but no one has been more clutch this postseason than Florida rookie Evan McPherson. Not only does he kick it through the uprights on multiple game-winners, but he also boasts a great load of confidence for a rookie. In fact, the entire team runs on confidence. If they can get ahead early and keep their composure without being super cocky, I actually can see the Bengals winning the Super Bowl.
Prediction:
However, even though I love the Bengals’ confidence and them being the underdog, I have to take the Rams in this one. The Bengals’ offensive line isn’t going to hold up against guys like Aaron Donald and Von Miller, two huge pass rushers. It’s a lot similar to what I thought about last year’s Super Bowl: the Chiefs’ offensive line was weak, while the defense for the Buccaneers prevailed. It’s a win-win for me, I lived in LA and I’m a huge fan of former Patriot Sony Michel. I think he’ll add another ring to his finger as the Rams shut the Bengals in Inglewood.
Rams 27, Bengals 17
Tune into Super Bowl LVI at 6:30 on NBC and Peacock.
Calhoun's Corner 