Super Bowl 2022: What will be the defining story of matchup between Bengals, Rams?
The long wait is over, and it's finally almost time for Super Bowl 56 at SoFi Stadium to kick off.
The Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams have been preparing for two weeks for their title bout, leaving ample time to dissect the biggest plot points of the game. Of course, there's the quarterback battle between Joe Burrow and Matthew Stafford. How about the coaching showdown between former teacher and pupil in Sean McVay vs. Zac Taylor? Then there's the question of whether three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald will wreck the Bengals' maligned line. And don't forget about the potential starring roles for other players such as Ja'Marr Chase, Cooper Kupp, Odell Beckham Jr. and Jalen Ramsey, among others.
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With that in mind, we asked Paste BN Sports NFL editors and writers:
What will be the defining story of Super Bowl 56?
Their answers:
Jori Epstein
Super Bowl titles often elude highly talented quarterbacks. Such is life in a league when 96.7% of teams fail to reach the ultimate goal each season, players sacrificing their bodies and watching their quality of health decline promptly. And yet, most top-tier quarterbacks taste at least intermittent playoff success. Few quarterbacks as capable as Matthew Stafford will post a losing record across a dozen years. Welcome to the Detroit Lions.
Rams head coach Sean McVay’s pursuit of a quarterback change seemed bold last offseason, McVay ditching 2016 first-round pick Jared Goff even after the Rams reached the Super Bowl with him following the 2019 season. And yet, as the Rams return to the big game – or should we say the big game is returning to the Rams, at their home stadium of SoFi – McVay’s belief in Stafford’s ability to elevate the team reaches confirmation. NFL fans with diverse rooting interests will be cheering on the quarterback who long suffered Detroit ineptitude as he attacks the last game standing between him and a Lombardi Trophy. At 33, Stafford has posted his most successful career campaign. NFL fans and media outlets will gravitate toward the suspense of his ring chase in what might just be his lucky Year 13.
Mike Freeman
It will be on how Aaron Donald is so dominant, he continues to force us to redefine how valuable he is. Donald is called by some the best player in football but we still view the quarterback position as the most important. It still is. However, Donald’s play in the Super Bowl might be so dominant we’ll need to create some type of special category for him, a whole new level of uniqueness.
Mike Jones
I think it'll involve the chess match between Sean McVay and Zac Taylor and the adjustments each makes.
We've seen the Bengals fall into big holes and scratch and claw their way back into the second halves of games and then pull off victories. We've seen the Rams deliver comeback wins as well.
The coach and staff that's able to pinpoint the challenges thrown at them by the other team and the counter and overcome those challenges will win.
Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
Is it reductive to pin this game on quarterback play? Maybe so, but that's the nature of the position. It feels like Joe Burrow will be on the move early and often, the right side of his line unable to keep up with whatever the Rams throw at them. Burrow's maneuverability can be downright theatrical, as it was in the AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs. And if he can extend plays, there could be a prime opportunity to attack downfield with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. But expecting Burrow to evade defenders all night seems like a tall ask, so Cincinnati might witness the limitations of its current offensive setup.
Meanwhile, the Rams seem to have found a much more manageable request for Matthew Stafford: play within the offense and keep everything on schedule, but make defenses pay when things break down. While Stafford was a little wild at times this season with his career-high 17 interceptions, Los Angeles has placed the offense squarely in his hands and should continue to do so Sunday. Though the Bengals' adaptability and lack of an easily exploited weak link on defense could keep those close, Stafford seems well-positioned to earn a crowning achievement to a 13-year career that began with him being the No. 1 pick for the Detroit Lions.
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