LOS ANGELES RAMS (15-5 vs. CINCINNATI (13-5) at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood (California).
Sunday, 6:30 p.m. ET, NBC
BETTING LINE: Rams to 4 according to FanDuel SportBook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Rams 8-9; Bengals 10-7.
SERIES RECORD: Bengals lead 8-6.
LAST MEETING: Bengals defeated Rams 24-10 in London on October 27, 2019.
LAST GAME: Rams beat 49ers 20-17; Bengals beat Chiefs 27-24, OT.
RAMS OFFENSE OVERALL (9), RUSH (25), PASS ((5)), SCORING (T-77)
RAMS DEFENSE OVERALL (17), RUS (6), PASS (22), Scoring (15)
BENGALS OFFENSE OVERALL (13), RUSH (223), PASS (7) and SCORING (7)
BENGALS DEFENSE OVERALL (18), RUSH (5). PASS (26), SCORING (17).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Rams plus-2, Bengals 0.
RAMS PLAYER TO WATCH: DT Aaron Donald. This is the chance for the game’s best defensive player to make a comeback on the big stage. Donald has had 1 1/2 sacks, 16 pressures, and a solitary tackle in three of his postseason games. However, he was not able to make an impact on the Super Bowl’s first appearance three years ago. The 2021 unanimous All Pro should have a better chance against an overmatched interior offense line.
BENGALS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: QB Joe Burrow. Burrow is now the No. Burrow has gone from No. Burrow’s presence transformed a struggling team. Burrow is averaging 331.1 yards per game and has 15 TD passes.
KEY MATCHUP: Rams’ CB Jalen Ramsey takes on Bengals’ WR Ja’Marr Chase. In a matchup that could decide the winner, the NFL’s best cornerback will face off against the most prolific rookie receiver since the merger. Ramsey was named to his third All-Pro team, having intercepted four passes and had 16 passes defensed. Chase’s 1,455 yards of receiving in the regular-season were the highest for a rookie in Super Bowl history. His seven receptions of at minimum 50 yards in both the regular season, playoffs and the playoffs tied for the second most by any player over the past 30 seasons.
KEY INJURIES: Rams’ TE Tyler Higbee and T Joseph Noteboom aren’t expected to practice this week, but they haven’t been ruled out of Sunday. … Los Angeles RB Darrell Henderson and DL Sebastian Joseph Day (pectoral), are expected to be back from IR in the time they need to play. … Bengals TE C.J. Uzomah stated that he will be back to playing after sustaining a knee injury in the AFC title game. … Cincinnati DT Josh Tupou (knee), OL Jack Carman (back), and DE Cam Sample(groin) are all dealing with injuries.
SERIES NOTES. The teams met once in 2019 under the current coaches, with the Rams winning 24-10 at Wembley Stadium. … Cincinnati coach Zac Twain spent two seasons with Sean McVay’s team on the Rams. Andrew Whitworth, Rams LT, spent his first 11 seasons in Cincinnati. His 168 games for Cincinnati rank 14th in franchise history.
STATS AND STTUFF: The Rams are 3-3 all-time in Super Bowls. The Bengals have lost both of their previous two Super Bowls. … This matchup is the youngest in Super Bowl history. It also marks the first time that both of the coaches are younger than 40. After being drafted in the first round, Stafford in 2009 and Burrow in 2020, Burrow and Rams QB Matthew Stafford are the 10th and 11th Super Bowl quarterbacks, respectively. … This is the second meeting of two former No. Peyton Manning beat Cam Newton six years back in the other. … The seventh No. 1 pick will win this game. The Super Bowl’s winner will be the No. 1 pick quarterback. … Stafford’s 49.995 yards passing, and 323 touchdown passes is the best for a rookie QB in the Super Bowl. Stafford must pass for 209 yards to become the sixth player ever to surpass 6,000 yards in one season. Cooper Kupp, Rams WR, has 2,333 yards receiving during the regular season as well as the playoffs. This is the longest single season in NFL history. Kupp’s 20 TD catches rank fourth behind Jerry Rice (22) and Randy Moss (24) in 2007. Kupp’s 13 100 yard receiving games are the highest in a single season. … With 50 sacks during the regular season, the Rams ranked third in the NFL. … The Bengals are fourth NFL team to reach the Super Bowl in a single year, having won four or less games. Only one team to win the Super Bowl is the 1999 Rams. Burrow was the first quarterback to win the Super Bowl, after being sacked the most in the regular season. His 63 sacks during the regular season and playoffs rank eighth in NFL history. K Evan McPherson, the Bengals’ rookie quarterback, has been 4 for 4 in all three playoff games on field goals. He is now tied with Adam Vinatieri for the record for most playoff games with at minimum four field goals. McPherson’s 12 postseason goals are just two shy of Vinatieri’s single-year record from 2006. … The Bengals scored in two minutes left of the second half in all three playoff games. This gave them a league record 74 points — the fourth-best since 2000. Cincinnati was penalized for running the least amount of yards (72) in regular season.
