Who doesn’t love a good Cinderella story?
In one of the biggest shocks in sports this year, the Cincinnati Bengals made their way through the American Football Conference to enter the Super Bowl.
Led by second-year quarterback Joe Burrow, the Bengals were expected to be better than their 4-11-1 record in 2020, but they were given the third-worst odds in the league of making the Super Bowl. And yet, they’ve made it this far mostly by the magic of Burrow and his offensive weapons. In a shootout against the Los Angeles Rams, Burrow will lead the Bengals to their first Super Bowl in franchise history.
After his rookie year was cut short due to an ACL tear, Burrow had a stellar sophomore season, with 34 touchdowns to just 14 interceptions. Rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase posted a Bengals rookie record 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns, joining Burrow on the Bengals after their two seasons at LSU in college. He also broke the rookie receiving record in a game in Week 17, with 266 yards on 11 catches. Already one of the shiftiest wide receivers in the league, he always gets open when Burrow needs a big play, but the weapons don’t end with Chase.
Second year receiver Tee Higgins has been taking advantage of the extra attention Chase gets, catching contested balls for big plays, with Tyler Boyd being the veteran of the group in his sixth year with the team. Tight end C.J. Uzomah takes advantage of all these talented receivers by splitting the middle of the field for easy completions.
To make matters worse for opposing defenses, Burrow has a deadly backfield teammate. Fifth year running back Joe Mixon was third in the league in rushing this year, he has also caught at least three passes a game during the playoffs.
Their one offensive weakness is their offensive line, but Burrow has been able to mitigate that issue with quick passes and magician’s moves to avoid sacks. Even when he wasn’t able to avoid pressure, he beat the Tennessee Titans after taking nine sacks to make it to the AFC Championship game.
The Bengals aren’t just an offensive team; their defense is underrated, with stars like safety Jessie Bates III and edge rusher Trey Hendrickson flanked by solid linebackers in Logan Wilson and Germaine Pratt, as well as cornerbacks Mike Hilton and Chidobe Awuzie. They were able to shut down QB Patrick Mahomes last week by dropping eight men in coverage, eliminating almost all passing lanes.
They will face yet another great QB in Matthew Stafford, but look for the Bengals to use similar tactics to make the Rams either run the ball or find short passes underneath the coverage.
Even if the defense can’t stop Stafford, Burrow along with the rest of the offense, is built for a shootout. Burrow has been averaging 280 yards per game in the playoffs, and only has thrown two interceptions across three games. The Bengals also have the best rookie kicker in the game, Evan McPherson, who has only missed five field goals this whole season and has kicked two straight game winners.
Look for this game to go to the last drive, with Burrow leading the Bengals down the field for another McPherson game-winner, to bring a Super Bowl to Cincinnati for the first time ever.
While they’re up against one of the most star-studded teams the NFL has seen, the Bengals will complete one of the best Cinderella stories football has ever seen.
