Super Bowl LVI is a matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals. Who had that when the season began? Well, outside of possibly former quarterback Dan Orlovsky. To his credit, he might have been the one person who thought the Bengals could potentially be a Super Bowl team before the season began.

Apart from that, most people were probably shocked when the Bengals defeated the Chiefs in the AFC Championship. Meanwhile, the Rams finally put their rival San Francisco 49ers to bed over in the NFC.

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That sets up an interesting yet surprising matchup for Super Bowl LVI. The first 54 Super Bowls saw no team play at home. Suddenly, there is an actual home team at the Super Bowl again. Tampa Bay played at home last year and the Rams will play at SoFi Stadium this year. So, let's break it down.

Cincinnati Bengals vs Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl LVI Preview

Let's take a look at it from each side of the ball.

The Rams defense against the Bengals offense is the part of the game that most people are going to talk about. So, let's start there.

It's well documented that Cincinnati has one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL. That is particularly true in pass protection. That was pretty evident against the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round when Joe Burrow was sacked nine times.

Yes, you read that right, he was sacked nine times vs. the Titans. It tied an NFL record. Yet, they still came out on top. However, it is very unlikely Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford plays as poorly as Ryan Tannehill did that day.

The Rams feature just as good, if not a better front four than the Titans. Aaron Donald is arguably the best football player in the world. Von Miller has played outstanding football since joining the team mid-season. Leonard Floyd has been consistent this year both bringing pressure and setting the edge.

Needless to say, it is going to be a challenge for the Bengals to protect Joe Burrow. I would expect Burrow to try and get the ball out of his hands quickly. Tyler Boyd over the middle of the field might be very busy.

Early this season, the Rams defense was susceptible to the run. That has gone by the wayside lately. In the playoffs, their run defense has been downright dominant. But Cincinnati will likely need to find a way to move the ball on the ground. Otherwise, it could be a very long evening for Joe Burrow.

On the other side of the ball, Stafford will look to continue his stellar play. He had been facing a lot of tough questions, having never won a playoff game until this season. After three superb games in a row, those questions have been put to bed.

Cincinnati's defense will not be intimidated though. They just completely shut down Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense for two plus quarters. Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson will be key in this game.

Hendrickson, in his first season in Cincinnati, set a franchise record with 14 sacks.

We saw this year that if you can get Stafford rattled, he can be prone to mistakes. He led the NFL in interceptions thrown returned for touchdowns with four. Cincinnati played zone coverage as much as almost any other team in the league. I would assume they play a lot of zone in this game as well. That should help limit a lot of the crossing routes and intermediate throws to Cooper Kupp and company.

The Bengals also did a great job against the run this season. Whether it's Cam Akers or Sony Michel, it stands to reason that the Rams will need Stafford to be the engine of the offense again.

One player to watch for will be Van Jefferson. If the Bengals focus on taking away some of the underneath routes, it's likely Jefferson, the Rams over-the-top threat, will get a couple looks deep.

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It should be a fascinating matchup to watch. Either the Bengals are going to win the first Super Bowl in their franchise's history, or the Rams will justify their trading away all of those first round picks for Matthew Stafford. In doing so, the Rams would claim their