Can the Bengals Upset the Rams at Super Bowl 56?

Not a lot of football fans expected to see these two teams battle it out in the Super Bowl this Sunday. The LA Rams were fancied by some to overcome stiff opposition from the likes of Green Bay and Tampa Bay in the NFC. But no one outside of Cincinnati gave the Bengals much of a chance to come through the AFC and leave the Titans and the Chiefs in their wake.

But now the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California plays host to these two teams as they look to win the ultimate prize in football. There will be many column inches written – and many Super Bowl bets placed – but one of these two will win the championship game. But what are the key stories ahead of the big game?

The Student Meets the Teacher

Third-year head coach Zac Taylor will be aiming to take the Cincinnati Bengals to its first ever Super Bowl victory. But he will have to get past the man who he worked under in 2017 and 2018 – including as a quarterbacks coach when the Rams lost Super Bowl 53 to the Pats.

It may not exactly be a Karate Kid/Mr. Miyagi situation, but it will be fascinating to see Rams coach Sean McVay go head to head with a former protégé. McVay is hardly a seasoned veteran either though. He only has five years in the main role himself and both coaches are in charge of their first team in the NFL.

Number Pick QB Battle

Super Bowl 56 will be only the second time ever that two quarterbacks that were selected number one overall in the NFL draft appear in the same big game. Matt Stafford was taken by the Lions in 2009 before being traded to Los Angeles last year, while Joe Burrow is just two years into his NFL career. Neither has won a ring as yet.

You wouldn’t know there were 11 years of experience between the two though. Burrow will be only the second second-year QB to appear at the Super Bowl, after Russell Wilson in 2013, and has impressed everyone with his maturity and game smarts this season. It looks like being an intriguing match up.

Doing it the Hard Way

We said earlier that this wasn’t the Super Bowl match up that many people envisaged. Both the Rams and the Bengals finished as the number four-ranked team in their respective conference, with Cincinnati losing seven regular season games and still taking the AFC North divisional title.

Both teams made fairly easy work of their wild card games before winning their divisional playoff and conference championship games by a combined total of just six points each. The Bengals even needed a field goal in overtime to beat Kansas City. Whoever wins this one, we won’t be able to say they had it easy.

Big Money Owner vs. Thrifty Owner

Stan Kroenke spent $5 billion on building the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California with the dream that his Los Angeles Rams would one day play in a Super Bowl there. This organization went all in on gaining success as quickly as possible. Throwing away some first round picks for Stafford – and trading for Von Miller and Odell Beckham Jr. midseason. The contrast with Cincinnati could hardly be clearer.

The Bengals have not always been bankrolled to the tune of other organizations. Mike Brown is not well thought of in Cincinnati. Corners have traditionally been cut when it comes to spending. The city was effectively told to pay for a new stadium – and the team still has no indoor practice facility even though temperatures can get pretty low in Ohio.

On the face of it, these two teams could not be more different. But on Sunday they come together – and one of them will be crowned Super Bowl 56 champions.

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