Preamble
Simply as all people anticipated, this 12 months’s Tremendous Bowl is between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals.
I do know, we’ve had three weeks and it nonetheless doesn’t sound correct! Tom Brady? Retired. Ben Roethlisberger? Likewise. Again-to-back MVP winner Aaron Rodgers? At residence and almost certainly plotting an escape from the Inexperienced Bay Packers. The New England Patriots? Performed in a single. The Dallas Cowboys? Oh man, don’t even ask.
Now, the Rams at all times thought they belonged right here. They’ve been in win-now mode for the final two seasons and are actually one win away from having it repay, significantly by making the choice to maneuver on from Jared Goff at quarterback and change him with the Detroit Lions’ Matthew Stafford.
(We additionally welcome all long-suffering Lions followers who’re rooting for the Rams solely because of this. We perceive, generally you must take no matter victories you will get.)
Within the NFC championship recreation, the Rams defeated the San Francisco 49ers, a well-rounded group that determined to stay with their very own questionable quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo. That, not unpredictably, ended up being the distinction within the recreation. Typically in sports activities, it very a lot is the strikes you DO make.
The Bengals? No one besides them anticipated the Bengals to get this far. They hadn’t gained a playoff recreation since 1991. Now they’ve gained three straight and are by some means within the Tremendous Bowl. Speak about a quarterback altering a group: Joe Burrow has remodeled the Bengals from the dispiriting “Bungles” of yore to the 12 months’s most surprising underdog story.
If anyone doubted their probabilities at successful a championship, the outcomes of the AFC championship recreation ought to have set them straight. With their comeback win over the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs, who had been aiming to seem of their straight Tremendous Bowl, the Bengals have ensured that on paper, no less than, this matchup ought to be one thing of a toss-up.
It’s the ultimate recreation of a terrific NFL postseason and you’ve got one remaining likelihood to contribute to one among our NFL liveblogs. Contact us along with your feedback, questions, predictions and whatnot and we’ll use them all through in the present day’s protection. You’ll be able to electronic mail them to Hunter.Felt.Freelance@theguardian.com or ship them to my on-line residence on Twitter at @HunterFelt.
It’s Tremendous Bowl LVI with the Los Angeles Rams in opposition to the Cincinnati Bengals at their residence at So-Fi Stadium! Kickoff is scheduled round 6:30 pm EST/11:30 pm GMT however we’ll be again with common updates as we get nearer to precise soccer. Keep tuned!