Andrew Wilsher
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Welcome to The Burning Question, where three of our NFL experts give their thoughts on a big talking point coming out of the past week’s football action.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, the big game is on the horizon. The stage is set for Super Bowl LVI, in which the Los Angeles Rams will take on the Cincinnati Bengals. Both teams pulled off tremendous comebacks to make it to the Super Bowl, and each will feel it’s written in the stars for them to win it all.
However, of course only one will actually lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy, and we’re putting the question to our three NFL experts today. Will it be the Rams or the Bengals that win the Super Bowl? It’s time for our experts — Jared Smith, Andrew Ortenberg, and Ricky Dimon — to have their say, with odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
Jared Smith: Los Angeles Rams (-198)
This is a tough one. My heart says it’s Joe Burrow’s year, which is not a logical reason to bet on a team, but logic got kicked to the curb on Sunday when the Bengals erased a 21-3 deficit at Arrowhead. While I do think Cincinnati has a slight edge at quarterback, the game of football is still won in the trenches and the Rams have a huge edge in that department.
Los Angeles has the best pass rush win rate in the league and will face a Bengals offense ranked 30th in pass block win rate. On the other side, the Rams’ pass blocking win rate is ranked first, and the Bengals’ pass rush 25th. The Rams also have a significant edge in run blocking and run stopping win rates. So while Burrow might have the swag, he also will likely be running for his life. Therefore I expect the Rams to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
Get Jared’s analysis on the Super Bowl opening lines and his market analysis
Andrew Ortenberg: Los Angeles Rams (-198)
I’ve been a big fan of this Bengals team, and they’ve won me a lot of money this season. But their magical run is unfortunately likely to end here. The matchup is just unavoidably bad. Jalen Ramsey should be able to neutralize Cincy’s top weapon in Ja’Marr Chase, and Joe Burrow is likely to be running for his life all game. The Rams have arguably the best pass-rush in the league, while the Bengals have arguably the worst pass-blocking offensive line in the league.
Aaron Donald against an incredibly weak Bengals interior O-line? If that’s not a recipe for disaster, I don’t know what is. Cincinnati has been a great story, but they didn’t actually play that well in any of their three playoff wins. The Raiders, Titans, and Chiefs all kind of just beat themselves. In the win over Tennessee for example, the Bengals gave up 9 sacks and only managed to squeak out a last-second victory because Ryan Tannehill gift-wrapped them 3 interceptions. They won’t be so fortunate here.
Read Andrew’s full game preview for Super Bowl LVI: Los Angeles Rams vs Cincinnati Bengals
Ricky Dimon: Cincinnati Bengals (+166)
Right now I’m leaning toward taking the Bengals and the points. So, what the heck, at the moment I’ll also back them on the money line! To be clear, this isn’t a strong play and with almost two full weeks still to go it’s subject to change. I am concerned with Cincinnati’s potential inability to protect Joe Burrow from the likes of Aaron Donald and Von Miller.
But I’m even more concerned with the Rams. They almost endured one of the worst collapses in sports history against Tampa Bay and they barely finished off an unspectacular San Francisco team quarterbacked by Jimmy Garoppolo. Sure they did well to come back from 10 points down, but the story may have been different if 49ers safety Jaquiski Tartt had not dropped an absolutely awful pass by Matthew Stafford that should have resulted in a 4th-quarter interception. I don’t trust anyone on this team in a late-game situation other than kicker Matt Gay. And speaking of kickers, I trust Cincy’s Evan McPherson even more!
In what figures to be a competitive, relatively low-scoring contest, give me the Bengals in a late-game situation. Los Angeles has guys like Stafford and Odell Beckham Jr. who are just happy to be there — finally. Cincinnati has flat-out winners like Joe Burrow.
Get Ricky’s best bets for who will be Super Bowl 56 MVP!
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