Super Bowl VLI Preview

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February 12, 2022

Welcome to Super Bowl weekend, everyone!  We get a matchup this year that’s at least new and different, which should be entertaining.  Joe Burrow is a bit of a polarizing figure in terms of his attitude, but there’s no denying that he has his team on a roll and has brought the Bengals farther than anyone expected.  On the Rams’ side, Matthew Stafford definitely proved what he could do as a quarterback after getting paroled from Football Hell North (as opposed to Washington, which is Football Hell East).  If the rest of this year’s playoff games are a prediction of things to come, this Super Bowl may end up being an outstanding game that comes down to the end.  I’m sure NBC will have pregame programming that lasts the bulk of the day, so you’ll be able to kill the entire Sunday if you want.  No, Monday shouldn’t be a holiday.  Have fun with the big game, and thank the NFL for once again creating a long bathroom and snack break at halftime.

Playoff Seedings

AFC

  1. Tennessee Titans (12 – 5; 1st, AFC South; homefield advantage and bye)
  2. Kansas City Chiefs (12 – 5; 1st, AFC West)
  3. Buffalo Bills (11 – 6; 1st, AFC East)
  4. Cincinnati Bengals (10 – 7; 1st, AFC North)
  5. Las Vegas Raiders (10 – 7; 2nd, AFC West)
  6. New England Patriots (10 – 7; 2nd, AFC East)
  7. Pittsburgh Steelers (9 – 7 – 1; 2nd, AFC North)

NFC

  1. Green Bay Packers (13 – 4; 1st, NFC North; homefield advantage and bye)
  2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13 – 4; 1st, NFC South)
  3. Dallas Cowboys (12 – 5; 1st, NFC East)
  4. Los Angeles Rams (12 – 5; 1st, NFC West)
  5. Arizona Cardinals (11 – 6; 2nd, NFC West)
  6. San Francisco 49ers (10 – 7; 3rd, NFC West)
  7. Philadelphia Eagles (9 – 8; 2nd, NFC East)

SCHEDULE:

Super Bowl

Sunday, Feb. 13

6:30 p.m. ET, SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, CA (NBC)

Halftime Show – another awful show that is nothing but a bathroom break Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog, Eminem, Mary J. Blige

GAME PREVIEW

Los Angeles Rams (#4) at Cincinnati Bengals (#4)

Line: Rams, -4

The Rams scored 460 points this season, which was ranked 8th, and were 9th in total yards, 5th in passing yards, 25th in rushing yards, and 26th in rushing yards per attempt.  Quarterback Matthew Stafford passed for 4886 yards (3rd), 67.2% completion percentage (12th), and a quarterback rating of 102.9 (6th).  Sony Michel was the Rams’ leading rusher, with 845 yards and 4.1 yards per carry.  Receiver Cooper Kupp had 1947 yards in the regular season, which led the NFL.  Receiver Van Jefferson had 802 yards, and tight end Tyler Higbee had 560 yards.  On defense, the Rams surrendered 372 yards, which was ranked 15th.  They were ranked 17th in total yards, 22nd in passing yards, 6th in rushing yards, and 7th in rushing yards per attempt.  The Rams went 5 – 2 after their bye week to finish off the regular season.  The Rams easily handled the Arizona Cardinals by the score of 34 – 11, and then defeated Tampa Bay by a score of 30 – 27 in Tampa on another last-second field goal.  In the NFC Championship game, Los Angeles defeated the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 20 – 17.  At one point, the Rams were down 17 – 7 in this game but came back to get the game-winning field goal with 1:49 left on the clock.

The Bengals scored 460 points (ranked 7th) and have been an outstanding passing team, ranked 2nd in the NFL in both quarterback rating and completion percentage.  They are a bottom-10 rushing team.  Quarterback Joe Burrow passed for 4611 yards (ranked 6th) in 16 games this year, had a 70.4% completion percentage (ranked #1), 34 touchdowns (ranked 8th), 14 interceptions, and a 108.3 quarterback rating (ranked #2).  On defense, the Bengals have surrendered 376 points (ranked 17th) and are middle of the pack by most passing metrics, and gave up 4.3 yards per attempt on the ground.  The Bengals finished the season with a 3 – 1 record and beat a number of quality teams this season, including the Chiefs and the Steelers twice.  In the Wild Card round, Cincinnati defeated the Raiders in a close game that featured a blown call by the officiating crew that allowed an unearned Bengals touchdown and that came down to the final possession of the game.  For his part, Burrow went 24 for 34 for 244 yards and 2 touchdowns against a Raiders team whose 96.4 opposing quarterback rating was ranked 24th.  Last week, the Bengals defeated the Titans by a score of 19 – 17 in a game that featured a crazy ending in which the Bengals intercepted Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill at the Cincinnati 47 yard line with 28 seconds left.  The Bengals then drove down to the Titans’ 34 yard line and kicked the game-winning 52 yard field goal on the final play of the game.  In the AFC Championship game, Cincinnati defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime by a score of 27 – 24.  The Bengals were down 21 – 3 late in the first half but cam back to win after Patrick Mahomes fumbled on his own 9 yard line with :03 left in the 4th quarter to allow the game-tying field field.  The Bengals won the game after Mahomes threw an interception on Cincinnati’s 40 yard line on the first possession in overtime, allowing Cincinnati to get the winning field goal.

Steve’s prediction: Rams win but don’t cover.