By: Jacob Walsh

The 56th Super Bowl Matchup has been set; The Los Angeles Rams will play against the Cincinnati Bengals at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, California on February 13th, 2022. Game time is set for 6:30 P.M. EST.

Rams: The Los Angeles Rams will be coming into the big game as the NFC’s 4th seed. The team finished the regular season with a 12-5 record. The Rams also stood atop the NFC West as the 2021 Division’s Champion.

The Rams advanced to the Super Bowl by defeating the Arizona Cardinals in the Wild Card Round and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Divisional Round. Los Angeles then clinched the NFC Conference title by beating division rival San Francisco by the score of 20-17 last Sunday (1/30).

Bengals: The Cincinnati Bengals entered the playoffs also as the 4th seed. Cincy finished 10-7 and won the AFC North division by winning 4 out of their 6 division matchups.

Cincinnati made their way to the Super Bowl by beating the Las Vegas Raiders at home in the Wild Card round. They then faced the 1st seeded Tennessee Titans in the Division Round. After dismantling the Titans with a game-winning field goal, the Bengals kicked their way to an AFC Conference title by beating the Kansas City Chiefs in a thrilling overtime drive. The final score of the game was 27-24 OT. 

The Super Bowl: Super Bowl LVI (56) will be played in Inglewood California at 6:30 P.M., February 13th. This game will be the second straight and second time overall that a team has played a Super Bowl in their home stadium; The Los Angeles Rams at Sofi Stadium.

Though the Rams are playing in their home stadium they are however the away team. This is due to the NFL having each conference taken turns being the home team every other Super Bowl. (Last year’s NFC Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the elected home team and played at their home stadium). 

Cincinnati being the elected home team gave them the ability to decide what uniforms they want to wear in the big game. Even though the Bengals went 2-0 in their all-white sets this postseason they elected to wear their Home black jerseys with white pants. **Pictured Below**

Los Angeles was at the mercy of the Bengals for their uniform decision, having to wear the opposing shade of Cincy’s decision. With said decision made the Rams decided to do what they did in their last Super Bowl Appearance and wear a Throwback uniform in place of a regular set. The Rams will wear their new Modern Throwbacks in the game; a white top with yellow/gold pants. **Pictured Below**

Both teams will wear the Super Bowl logo as a patch on their jersey, a tradition that has been done since 1997 in Super Bowl XXXII (32).

My Prediction: I believe this is going to be a high-powered battle on both sides of the ball. These teams play very similar football, and both have the ability to make big plays when needed. That being said, I believe that Los Angeles’s edge with playoff experience will help them persevere over the Bengals. Joe Burrow was the most sacked quarterback this season and I believe that the Rams smothering defense will be too much to handle.

Predicted Score:   Rams- 35    Bengals- 24

Featured Image Credit: Jacob Walsh