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Super Bowl LVI: The Hottest Ticket in Tinseltown
Light the grill, take out the chips, and ice the brewskies. Super Bowl LVI is here and it’s sure to be a good one.
The NFC champion Los Angeles Rams will face off against the AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Los Angeles (15-5) is currently favored to win the game at -185 odds, (bet $185 to win $100). Cincinnati, meanwhile, is listed a +160 underdog (bet $100 to win $160). The over-under is at 48.5 points.
The Rams’ path to the big game was pretty straight forward, with relatively few bumps in the road. After winning the NFC West, Los Angeles defeated the Arizona Cardinals in the Wild Card round, survived a furious comeback attempt by Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Divisional round, and broke a six-game losing streak to the rival San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game.
General Manager Les Snead took the unconventional route of building much of the team via trades and free agency, possibly mortgaging the future by trading away a plethora of early round draft picks for the likes of quarterback Matthew Stafford, cornerback Jalen Ramsey, and linebacker Von Miller. The Rams haven’t had a first round pick since 2016, when they selected the since departed Jared Goff with the first overall pick.
While he has been often criticized, Snead stands by his approach.
“The model is working,” he told Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post. “ It’s allowing us to consistently win games, consistently contend for NFC West. We’ll try to use our picks in an innovative, creative way and sometimes it will be picking players in the draft and sometimes it will be using them to go acquire players.”
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The upstart Bengals (13-7), on the other hand, continue to defy expectations. Led by sophomore quarterback Joe Burrow, Cincinnati won the AFC North, defeated the Oakland Raiders in the Wild Card round, knocked off the top seeded Tennessee Titans in the Divisional round, and upset the favored Kansas City Chiefs to with the AFC Championship.
Burrow has shown incredible poise and resilience for someone so young, and his calm demeanor in the midst of chaos makes him and the Bengals a legitimate threat to pull off the upset.
“Quarterback is the one position on the field that can really affect the game on every single play,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “I like having the ball in my hands every play and being able to win or lose with me.”
For the Rams, the keys to victory are simple. Stafford must take care of the football, and the running game needs to be better. Los Angeles is averaging 2.9 yards per carry in the playoffs.
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Cincinnati must take advantage of the chemistry between Burrow and rookie wideout Ja’Marr Chase, and the offensive line must hold up against what is sure to be an extremely active defensive front from the Rams.
Los Angeles is trying to become the second team to win a Super Bowl played in their home stadium. The Buccaneers accomplished the feat last year.
Of course, the country is still in the midst of a pandemic, but officials assure that all precautions are being taken.
“We’re working with the local L.A. County Health Department to make sure that all of our events are executed safely and within all the guidelines that have been established,” said Katie Keenan, senior director of event operations for the NFL.
Super Bowl LVI will air live on Sunday, February 13 and will be televised by NBC and and streamed on Peacock. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. EST.
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