When the Rams, the Bengals face off; how to watch; and other facts
It will also feature the youngest coaching matchup in Super Bowl history, with Zac Taylor, 38, going up against his former boss, Sean McVay, 36.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Super Bowl Sunday.
The basics
Dated: Sunday February 13
Kick-off time: 6:30 p.m.
TV: NBC
Site: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA.
Home team: Cincinnati
Away team: Los Angeles
Half-time entertainment: Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar
National anthem: mickey guyton
how they got here
Cincinnati: The Bengals quickly matured, going from a combined six wins over the past two seasons to a 10-7 record and their first winning season, playoff appearance and AFC North title since 2015. Cincinnati ended a drought 31 in the playoffs. in the wild card round, beating the Raiders at home, before scoring two upsets to seal the franchise’s first Super Bowl berth since 1988.
Behind the right arm of quarterback Joe Burrow, whose promising rookie season was derailed by a torn ACL but returned as a fully formed star in year two, and the right foot of kicker Evan McPherson, who pierced a consecutive game- winning on field goals, the Bengals first knocked out the top-ranked Titans in a 19-16 slog in Nashville before traveling to Kansas City to rally from a 21-3 deficit and stun Patrick Mahomes and the highly favored Chiefs.
Los Angeles: The Rams are back in the Super Bowl after falling in the last hurdle to the Patriots in 2019, but they look very different these days, throwing in huge trades for players like quarterback Matt Stafford, rusher Von Miller and cornerback Jalen Ramsey and land receiver Odell Beckham Jr. after the Browns waived him. Los Angeles went 12-5 to win the NFC West and crushed the division rival Cardinals in the wildcard round before hanging on to avoid a 24-point comeback from Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.
The Rams defense played a big role in the NFC Championship Game, with All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald blowing through the 49ers offensive line to force quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo into a desperate, sealed interception to hit the Rams ticket. to another Super Bowl.
Notable
⋅Only one team has won the Super Bowl the year after winning four or fewer games: the 1999 St. Louis Rams, who rebounded from a 4-12 season in 1998 to claim the franchise’s final championship. The Bengals could become the second Sunday.
⋅Joe Burrow is the first quarterback chosen No. 1 overall to lead his team to the Super Bowl in two seasons, and the first sophomore quarterback to reach the big game since Russell Wilson did it with the Seahawks in 2014.
⋅ With a win, Burrow would become the first quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy, a collegiate national championship and a Super Bowl.
⋅Sunday is only the second Super Bowl game between the No. 1 overall quarterbacks, Burrow and Stafford following in the footsteps of Cam Newton and Peyton Manning in 2016.
⋅McVay has a shot at becoming the youngest Super Bowl-winning coach in NFL history; he turned 36 on Jan. 24 and would surpass Mike Tomlin, who was weeks shy of 37 when he led the Steelers to the title in 2009. At 74 combined, McVay and Taylor are only a few years older than Bruce Arians, the oldest Super Bowl winning coach at 68 last season.
⋅Sunday will feature two of the game’s most electric receivers: Rams’ Cooper Kupp, who led the league with 16 touchdowns and a league-best 1,947 yards (with an extra game in Week 18), and Ja’Marr Bengals. Chase, who overcame preseason falling issues to rack up the most receiving yards (1,455) by a rookie in the Super Bowl era to go along with 13 touchdowns, second only to Randy Moss’ 17 in 1998.
⋅ Led by Donald, the Rams have one of the best passing rushes in the league with 50 sacks, third in the NFL. Burrow, meanwhile, was the only quarterback to be sacked more than 50 times this season behind an often porous offensive line.
⋅ The Rams are the second team to contest the Super Bowl at their home stadium and could become the second to win it all at home after last year’s Buccaneers did the same in Tampa.
⋅ McPherson is on a historic postseason kicking streak, a perfect 12-for-12 on field goals (including two game-winning attempts) and 4-for-4 on extra points. The rookie, a 2021 fifth-round pick, holds the record for most unmissed field goals in a single postseason and is nine points away from tying Adam Vinatieri’s playoff scoring record ( 49 points in 2006).
THIS IS WHY YOU WRITTEN A KICKER!
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) January 23, 2022
⋅ The Bengals’ overpowered offense is led by a draft-winning quintet: Burrow, Chase, Tee Higgins, Joe Mixon and Tyler Boyd, all taken in the first or second round since 2016. The Rams, meanwhile, haven’t haven’t made a first-round pick since taking No. 1 quarterback Jared Goff overall in 2016 and don’t own a first-round pick until 2024, having distributed much of their draft capital to their biggest contributors.
⋅ As the “home team”, the Bengals chose to wear their black home jerseys while the Rams will wear white tops; teams dressed in white have won 14 of the last 17 Super Bowls.
Super Bowl Officials
Umpire Ron Torbert (first Super Bowl) is joined by umpire Bryan Neale (first), down judge Derick Bowers (second), line judge Carl Johnson (third), ground judge Rick Patterson (third ), side judge Keith Washington (first), back judge Scott Helverson (third), and official Roddy Ames (first).
Post-season actions
Players on each team are ready to cash a solid check regardless of Sunday’s result; the winners will take home $150,000, with a consolation share of $75,000 for players on the losing side.
Game | Team | Quantity |
---|---|---|
wild card game | (Division winner) | $42,500 |
(Other) | $37,500 | |
Divisional playoff game | $42,500 | |
Conference Championship Game | $65,000 | |
superbowl | (Winning team) | $150,000 |
(losing team) | $75,000 | |
Pro-Bowl | (Winning team) | $80,000 |
(losing team) | $40,000 |
THE SOURCE: NFL
Last Super Bowl appearances and records
Cincinnati: The Bengals last reached the Super Bowl in 1988 and are 0-2, with losses in 1981 and 1988 at the hands of Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers.
Los Angeles: The Rams are in the Super Bowl for the fifth time (their third in their current hometown), with a 1-3 record in the previous four trips; McVay and Co. were held to just 3 points on their last trip, a loss to the Patriots in 2019, with the franchise’s only championship the team’s 1999 triumph, led by Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk and ” The Greatest Show on Turf.”
Super Bowls passed in Los Angeles
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
I: Green Bay 35, Kansas City 10
VII: Miami 14, Washington 7
pink bowl
XI: Oakland 32, Minnesota 14
XIV: Pittsburgh 31, LA Rams 19
XVII: Washington 27, Miami 17
XXI: New York Giants 39, Denver 20
XXVII: Dallas 52, Buffalo 17
The youngest winning coaches in Super Bowl history
Coach | Team | superbowl | Year | Days |
---|---|---|---|---|
mike tomlin | Pittsburgh | XLIII | 36 | 323 |
Jon Gruden | Tampa Bay | XXXVI | 39 | 162 |
John Madden | Oakland | XI | 40 | 274 |
Joe Gibbs | Washington | XVII | 42 | 66 |
Chuck Noll | Pittsburgh | IX | 43 | seven |
THE SOURCE: NFL
About the Lombardi Trophy
From the NFL: The winning team receives permanent possession of the Vince Lombardi Trophy, a sterling silver trophy created by Tiffany & Co. The trophy was named in honor of the late Vince Lombardi prior to Super Bowl V.
The trophy is a regulation-sized silver soccer ball mounted in the kicking position on a pyramid-shaped stand of three concave sides. The trophy stands 20.75 inches tall, weighs 107.3 ounces and is valued at over $25,000.
Future Super Bowls
Super Bowl LVII: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona, February 5, 2023
Super Bowl LVIII: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, February 11, 2024
Super Bowl LIX: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, February 9, 2025
Amin Touri can be contacted at [email protected]
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