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Latinosports.com welcomes Robert Rizzo as a writer /intern. This is his analysis and breakdown of Super Bowl LVl Sunday Rams versus Bengals. We welcome Robert to the team.

Super Bowl LVI: Bengals-Rams Outlook

LOS ANGELES RAMS VS CINCINNATI BENGALS 6:30 PM

CURRENT LINE: RAMS -4

TELEVISED ON NBC

TOTAL O/U: 49.5 SOFI STADIUM

CINCINNATI BENGALS OUTLOOK

Star-studded talent Joe Burrow led Cincinnati to an AFC Conference Title in just his second year in the NFL. Burrow joins five other quarterbacks to achieve this milestone (Dan Marino, Kurt Warner, Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady, and Colin Kaepernick). The former 1st overall pick QB can make more history this Sunday as he takes on the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI. In this postseason, Burrow has averaged 280.6 passing yards on a 68.8% completion percentage with four touchdowns.

This past offseason, Cincinnati drafted Jamarr Chase, who is arguably the most talented wide receiver in the past several years. Chase, 21, has a deep bond with Burrow as they won a national championship together at LSU in 2019. This postseason in three games, Chase has 20 receptions for a total of 279 receiving yards and one touchdown. The Bengals must utilize Chase in the pass game to disrupt the elite Rams defense. The player matchup to keep an eye on is All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey defending the rookie phenom in Chase. Running back Joe Mixon has shown glimpses this postseason in both the running and receiving game.

In this playoff run, Mixon has totaled 296 all purpose yards with two touchdowns. Mixon can be a dual threat towards the Rams run and pass defense. Second year head coach Zac Taylor has prepared his team for this moment. In just two seasons, Taylor has developed Cincinnati from the “worst” in the AFC North to the top of the AFC.

Being able to go on the road and defeat elite talented teams such as the Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs are incredible for this young oriented franchise. The coaching ties between Zac Taylor and Rams head coach Sean McVay are quite interesting. In 2017, Taylor was the Rams assistant receivers coach and became the quarterback coach from 2018 until 2020 under Sean McVay’s coaching staff.

Sean McVay has praised Zac Taylor’s coaching style in the past. This Super Bowl matchup of head coaches is the youngest in NFL history (Zac Taylor 38; Sean McVay 36).

LOS ANGELES RAMS OUTLOOK

Los Angeles is appearing in their second Super Bowl in the last five seasons. From the front office moves down to the coaching regime, the Rams have shown they are here to compete for championships. Over the offseason, Los Angeles traded quarterback Jared Goff to the Detroit Lions along with picks for coveted quarterback Matt Stafford to progress Sean McVay’s style of offense. This move set the franchise into immediate win now mode due to their next first round pick being in 2024. This postseason, Stafford, 34 is averaging 301.6 passing yards per game on a 72% completion percentage with 6 touchdowns. In a matter of three postseason games with the Rams, Stafford has proved his doubters wrong.

The front office did not just stop there. During the season, the Rams acquired former Super Bowl Champion defensive end Von Miller from the Denver Broncos. The pairing between three-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald and All Pro Von Miller is an elite duo facing all types of offensive line schemes. With 1.5 sacks and eight tackles this postseason, Donald will be a problem for any Bengals lineman.

The next move was All-Pro talent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Due to internal issues with Cleveland, OBJ was waived by the Browns during the regular season. Beckham signed with Los Angeles to add to a juggernaut offense which includes receiver Cooper Kupp, running backs Cam Akers and Sony Michel.

The offensively talented combination between receivers Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham Jr. has been unmatched this postseason. In this playoff run, the Kupp/Beckham Jr duo has combined for 44 receptions totaling 622 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns against top tier defenses. The
unpredictability of offensive schemes with Kupp and OBJ can cause busted coverage on Cincinnati’s secondary.

BETTING ASPECTS

The Los Angeles Rams this postseason are 2-1 ATS (Against The Spread) and the Under in these games are 2-1. The high powered offense in Los Angeles is averaging 28 points per game with Matt Stafford leading the charge. The Rams have been favored in each playoff game this postseason. In these playoffs, Cincinnati is 3-0 ATS and the Under in these games are 3-0. The Bengals entered two of the three playoff games as road underdogs (+4 against Tennessee and +7 against Kansas City). The underdog mentality could provide Cincinnati with a spark.