The NFL season will reach its completion on Feb. 13 with the playing of Super Bowl LVI between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams. The game is slated to kickoff at 6:30 p.m. and will take place in Inglewood, California at the brand new Sofi Stadium.

This year, the Super Bowl will host the two youngest head coaches in the NFL. Zac Taylor of the Bengals is 38 years old and Sean McVay of the Rams will be making his second Super Bowl appearance and is only 36 years of age. Both coaches are the offensive play callers for their respective teams and their teams have excelled on that side of the ball. If the Rams were to beat the Bengals on Sunday, McVay would become the record holder for youngest coach ever to win a Super Bowl. 

The Rams have an advantage in terms of experience at the quarterback position with Matthew Stafford. This is Stafford’s twelfth season in the NFL and he has thrown for almost 50,000 yards in his career. The Bengals quarterback is Joe Burrow and what he lacks in experience he makes up with swagger. Burrow has helped lead his team to the Super Bowl in only his second season. The quarterbacks have performed similarly this year and they are both at the top of the NFL in terms of passing yard total and QBR. 

The offense of the  Bengals features a strong trio of wide receivers and a versatile running back in Joe Mixon. Rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase has been the star of the offense this season with over 1,400 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. Chase was drafted early in the NFL draft last offseason and has shown an impressive chemistry with Burrow as the two were college teammates at LSU. This connection has catalyzed the team to score the eighth most points per game in the NFL. The Bengals have a weakness on their offensive line though. Cincinnati has allowed 51 sacks, the most in the NFL this season. Although this has not stopped the Bengals from winning, Burrow will have to be ready to get the ball out quick especially against the Rams defense.

The Los Angeles defense is headlined by two superstar caliber players in defensive tackle Aaron Donald and cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Both players will be involved in key matchups against the Bengals offense. Donald will be tasked with trying to expose the suspect opposing offensive line and add to his 12.5 sacks so far this season, a mark which leads the NFL at the defensive tackle position. Ramsey should have his hands full in his key matchup against Chase but he is known for shutting down the number one receiver on opposing teams. Ramsey has four interceptions on the season and is ranked third in the NFL in passes deflected. Outside of these two stars, the Rams defense is more open to opposing offenses. The defense is about average in the NFL and gives up more passing yards than most NFL teams, but they get a lot of sacks which will create an interesting dynamic against the Bengals strong passing attack and weaker offensive line.  

The Stafford led Rams offense is just as explosive as the offense of their opponents. The Rams score over 27 points per game which is good enough for fifth in the NFL. Their offense powered through the strong connection between Stafford and wide receiver Cooper Kupp. Kupp is the NFL leader in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns this season and he has a strong argument in a case for the best wide receiver season of all time. In addition to Kupp, the Rams have another big name receiver in Odell Beckham Jr. who they picked up off the waiver wire in week ten of the season. At running back the Rams have a solid trio of players after the surprise recovery of starter Cam Akers’ Achilles injury. The Rams also have a strong offensive line that has given up only 30 sacks this season, a mark that ties them for fourth best in the NFL.

On the other side of the ball, the Bengals defense has been playing well recently. During the season the Bengals defense was like the Rams in that it was about average in most statistical categories. In the playoffs though, the defense has allowed less than 20 points per game and the defensive coordinator, Lou Anarumo, has been able to make very good adjustments mid game to bolster their chances of winning. In the past two playoff games, the Bengals have only given up six combined points in the fourth quarter which has been a major factor in their postseason success. 

The best player on the defense is defensive end Trey Hendrickson. Hendrickson had the fifth most sacks in the regular season and has brought his sack total to 16.5 in the postseason. He will be a key player for the Bengals to try and disrupt Stafford before he can get the ball into the hands of the Rams playmakers. In addition to football being played on Feb. 13, there will be a performance during halftime of the game which will include Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar. The odds for the game have the total points scored at 48.5 points and oddsmakers have the Rams as the favorites to win the game, with the spread favoring LA by 3.5 points. 

The stage is set for Super Bowl LVI. The AFC champs Cincinnati Bengals will take on the Los Angeles Rams of the NFC in Sofi Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 13. Both teams were able to successfully navigate the ups and the downs of the playoffs and have reached the ultimate goal for every NFL franchise.

During the NFL Wild Card round of the playoffs, the Los Angeles Rams were slated to play against division rivals, the Arizona Cardinals. The Rams easily beat the Cardinals after jumping out to a 21-0 halftime lead. The Rams found success in their rushing attack where running backs Cam Akers and Sony Michel rushed for 113 combined yards along with 22 more yards and a rushing touchdown from quarterback Matthew Stafford. The Cardinals picked up steam in the second half and finally scored, but their efforts were not enough. The final score of the game was 34-11 after the Rams shut down any hopes of a Cardinal comeback.

The Bengals had a tougher time with their wildcard opponent, the Las Vegas Raiders. The Bengals were unable to get a lot going on offense but found themselves with a seven point lead at halftime in large part due to a strip sack of the Raiders’ quarterback by Trey Hendrickson, the Bengals star defensive end. The game came down to the wire late in the fourth quarter as Derek Carr, Las Vegas’ quarterback, led the Raiders inside the Bengals’ ten-yard line with 30 seconds left on the clock and a chance to tie the game with a touchdown. The Bengals defense mustered a goal line stand though, intercepting Carr on fourth down and ultimately winning the game for the team as the Bengals held off the Raiders 26-19.

The following week, both teams continued their journey towards the super bowl with thrilling victories in their divisional round games. The Rams were given the task of trying to upset quarterback Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Rams caught fire quickly, leading the defending Super Bowl champions 20-3 at halftime. The Rams further extended their lead halfway through the third quarter with a rushing touchdown by quarterback Matthew Stafford from a yard away to bring the score to 27-3. From then on it was Brady and the Buccaneers who came roaring back, scoring 24 unanswered points of their own and tying the game up with 46 seconds left in the contest. The Rams finally broke through in crunch time with two massive pass completions to NFL-leading receiver, Cooper Kupp, setting up their kicker Matt Gay with a 30 yard game winning field goal. As time expired, Gay snuck the field goal inside the left upright for the Rams to stun the Bucs and move on to the NFC Championship.

The Bengals had their hands full in their divisional matchup as well as they had to play the Tennessee Titans coming off a first round bye. The Bengals offense was able to move the ball with help from rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, with an impressive 109 receiving yard performance, but they were only able to score one touchdown the entire game and relied on field goals for most of their points. The Titans defense was also giving the Bengals fits, sacking quarterback Joe Burrow nine times throughout the game. The Bengals defense created havoc of their own though as they were able to intercept three passes from Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill. The final interception forced was during an attempted game winning drive with 28 seconds left and the game knotted at 16-16. The Bengals quickly gained 19 yards and set up rookie kicker Evan McPherson with a long game winning field goal attempt from 52 yards out. McPherson made the difficult kick and sent the Bengals into the AFC championship game.

This past Sunday, Jan. 30, both teams had strong showings yet again in the entertaining conference championship games. The Rams were put to the test against another division rival, the Jimmy Garoppolo led San Francisco 49ers. The pace of the game was slow and methodical as both defenses were able to stifle the opposing offenses. The Rams put together a long 20 play drive that ended in a Kupp touchdown reception early in the second quarter but were down 10-7 at halftime with momentum favoring the 49ers. San Francisco then extended their lead to ten points after a touchdown pass to tight end George Kittle. 

At the end of the third quarter the Rams were losing 17-7. Stafford began the Rams comeback by engineering another drive which led to a second Kupp touchdown reception. The Rams were able to take a lead in the fourth with two field goals from Gay. Now it was the 49ers quarterback, Garrapolo’s turn to attempt a comeback. The Rams gave him no chance though, and All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald forced an errant throw three plays into the drive which turned into the game sealing interception for the Rams with just over a minute left on the clock. Stafford took a kneel three times and the Rams punched a ticket to the Super Bowl in their home stadium.

The Bengals had the privilege of traveling to Kansas City where they would take on All-Pro quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. The Chiefs dominated the Bengals early and had a 21-3 lead late in the second quarter. With just under five minutes left on the clock, Cincinnati drove down the field and finally broke through with a dump off pass from Joe Burrow turning into a 41 yard touchdown scored by backup running back Samaje Perine. The Chiefs had another opportunity to score right before halftime and got all the way down to the Bengal one-yard line, but after failing to score on the previous play, with no timeouts, and five seconds on the clock, the Chiefs took a risk and opted to not take the field goal. They drew up a play to attempt a touchdown that fell just short, but they had a 21-10 lead going into the half. 

In the second half, Joe Burrow and the Bengals were not to be denied. Burrow threw another touchdown, this time to Ja’Marr Chase, and the offense was able to score 14 points in the second half. Defensively, the Bengals had improved drastically from their first half performance. They had given up no points the entire half and the team had just taken a 24-21 lead after a McPherson field goal with about six minutes left to play. 

The Chiefs weren’t done yet though. They drove down the field, wasted the clock, and set up former Tech kicker Harrison Butker with a 44 yard field goal to tie the game. Just as Butker used to do as a student athlete at Tech, he drilled the kick and sent the game to overtime. 

The Chiefs won the coin toss and the fans erupted as though they had already won, but the Bengals defense had other plans. Four plays into the first overtime drive, the defense forced a Mahomes interception and set the Bengals up in prime field position. A few plays later, Evan McPherson hit a chip shot field goal to win the game and send the Bengals to the Super Bowl.