Quarterback: These two guys are studs, Matthew Stafford in his first year out of Detroit gets the Rams back to the Super Bowl. Joe Burrow less than two years after being drafted #1 overall, just over 2 years from winning a Heisman Trophy and National Title, and a little over a year since tearing his ACL, is in the Super Bowl. These are two of the biggest turnarounds in NFL history. Stafford was always good in Detroit but never had the team to be great, he did play with Calvin Johnson, but the rest of the pieces never quite fit together. He has been great for the Rams with all their weapons on offense, plus a defense he can rely on if he makes a mistake. Burrow is a winner, he set all the records his last year at LSU, engineering the greatest offense college football has ever seen. In Cincinnati he's been just as good, getting the ball to his weapons, and doing his best with a not so great offensive line. Stafford has the experience, but arguably Burrow has more big game experience, in the National Championship game and just as many Conference championship game appearances in the NFL. I can't make a choice here, Advantage: Push
Running Back: Another great match up here. Joe Mixon has been a workhorse for the Bengals. His 1205 yards and 13 touchdowns rushing have made him an All-Pro. For the Rams Cam Akers has come back from injury to be healthy in the playoffs, he almost blew the Tampa game with his fumble, but he's been very good in the postseason, with help from Sonny Michel the Rams have ran the ball decent. I think though with Mixon and Samaje Perine, who broke a huge screen pass for a touchdown vs Kansas City, the Bengals have the advantage in the backfield. Will either team run the ball that much, I'm not sure. Advantage: Bengals
Wide Receiver: This is maybe the most star studded group of Wide Receivers in Super Bowl history. Each team has one of the best in the game. Cooper Kupp leads the Rams with 1,947 yards receiving (Ed Note: That's a shitload of yards) on 145 catches and 16 TDs, which all lead the league. Oh and they also have Odell Beckham Jr. to line up opposite of him, he started off slow since coming over from Cleveland but in the playoffs OBJ has looked like the guy from the Giants. Against Arizona 54 yards Tampa 69 yards on 6 catches and finally against San Francisco 113 yards on 9 catches. As teams look to cover Kupp, he's been open. The Bengals though counter with rookie Ja'Marr Chase, he struggled with drops in the preseason but has since blossomed into one of the most dangerous receivers in the league. In the playoffs he's had games of 116, 109, and 54 yards. That's with getting most of the defenses attention. His partner in crime is Tee Higgins, all he's done the last 2 games is have 96 and 103 yards receiving. These guys are all studs, and that's why I"m not sure the running backs will matter much, running the ball. The defenses will have their hands full, but if we have to pick a winner, it's the Rams. Kupp is amazing and can flip the game instantly, like the Tampa game, and if OBJ continues this trend of getting comfortable, look out. Advantage: Rams
Tight End: I like these guys, but I'm not sure which one is the game changer. Tyler Higbee got dinged up in the NFC Championship game and isn't sure if he'll play yet. He made some big catches for the Rams. CJ Uzomah is also battling an injury. He was out most of the AFC Championship game, in the previous playoff games though he was Burrows safety blanket when under duress, if the Bengals needed a first down Burrow was looking for Uzomah. With guys limping into the game I don't think I can pick a winner here. Advantage: Push
Offensive Line: The Bengals O-Line struggled against Tennessee, Burrow was running for his life. The Titans racked up 9 sacks, in a loss. That doesn't fair well for the Bengals going into a game against the studs the Rams have up front. For the Rams they have been decent, they keep Stafford upright. Against the 49ers elite pass rush they only gave up 2 sacks. I really don't know many players on either line, but after the performance the Bengals gave against Tennessee I think their reputation has been sullied. Advantage: Rams
Defensive Line: The best player on the field is probably in this group, Aaron Donald is a monster of a player. He has been a first team all pro in every year of his career except his rookie year. The guy is a stud, he changes the game just being on the field. I think his presence vs the Bengals line is going to be the match up of the game. If he creates havoc for Burrow, we may be in for a boring game. I just looked at the Bengals depth chart and sadly I don't know any of these guys. They did get after Mahomes in the Chiefs game, so they are capable, but they aren't the Rams line. Advantage: Rams
Linebackers: Again the Bengals don't have a lot of names here, but they are good. They did shut down the Chiefs for the entire 2nd half. The Rams made the trade for Von Miller, hoping to get some more pass rush. He has been pretty alright for them but not the beast he was 5 years ago. The rest of the LBs do the job, but again I don't watch enough to know how great these guys are. I do think though that Von Miller can take advantage of the Bengals line, and get to Burrow. Advantage: Rams
Secondary: The Rams have Jalen Ramsey, he's one of the best in the league. I saw he's asking to follow Ja'Marr Chase around the field. He did drop a sure pick against the 49ers, but he's still pretty good. The Bengals feasted on the Titans and Ryan Tannehill and also did well against the Chiefs, eventually. Both of these teams will have their hands full, and the pressure to make a play will be immense. The key to me is limiting the big plays and if you have a chance to make a big play, you better make it, you can't give the other offense more chances than what they've earned. To me Ramsey is the difference. Advantage: Rams
Special Teams: Evan McPherson has been the Bengals best weapon in the playoffs. He won the Titans game by bombing 50 yard field goal after 50 yard field goal. He also kicked 4 field goals vs the Chiefs. The dude is awesome. For the Rams, they have a great punter in Johnny Hekker, I know him and I don't watch a lot of NFL anymore, he's great. I don't think you can argue with McPherson though. Advantage: Bengals
Coaches: Sean McVay has been here before, I assume he's still the guy everyone is trying to get a piece of in the coaching circles. Zak Taylor for the Bengals is a McVay disciple of sorts, he was with the Rams for a couple of years. I don't know a lot about Taylor other than he's apparently pretty good at his job. McVay though is the biggest thing in NFL coaching. Advantage: Rams.
Finals Score Rams 6 Bengals 2: I don't think I'm too far out on a limb here thinking the Rams have a huge advantage. I've watched a lot of the Bengals postseason and honestly I don't know how they've done it. They used turnovers to beat the Titans, and Andy Reid Andy Reided all over himself in the AFC Championship game. That said the Bengals have been underdogs for the last two weeks and won, they were also underdogs in their own division, with Baltimore, Cleveland and Pittsburgh all there. The Rams made all these moves to win this one, they traded countless draft picks for Stafford, Ramsey, Miller and OBJ. They need to make this happen on Sunday or it will all be for nothing. I think it goes Rams 35 Bengals 30, but I have no confidence in that, perhaps the Bengals shock us one more time.
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