Sunday night will bring the brightest lights back to Los Angeles as the newly built, 5.5 billion dollar SoFi Stadium plays host to Super Bowl LVI. The Bengals and Rams will battle it out for the Lombardi Trophy in what will be the lowest seeded Super Bowl in history.

The home Los Angeles Rams opened the week up as 4.5 point favorites. But the Bengals are riding atop the hot hand of their second year quarterback Joe Burrow.

Cincinnati opened the season as 125-1 longshots to reach the Super Bowl and now stand only  one game away from hoisting the Lombardi trophy. The Bengals ended the regular season with a 10-7 record, capturing the title of the crowded AFC North.

The second year LSU product Joe Burrow has thrown for 4,611 yards with 34 touchdowns on the season. Joe Burrow has been able to showcase his arm talent through a young and talented receiving core in rookie Ja’Marr Chase and second year receiver Tee Higgins.

On paper the Bengals have what many consider to be an average defense. Although they did have one of their best performances of the season last week in the win over Kansas City as they only allowed 3 points after halftime which allowed a comeback from down 21-3.

The Rams are offensively led by former longtime Detroit Lions quarterback Matt Stafford. Stafford had provided good numbers for the Rams posting 4,886 yards passing, along with 41 touchdowns. After acquiring the former Lions quarterback the Rams’ front office acquired receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to provide more depth on offense.

Beckham Jr. has average 11.3 yards per reception and has found himself in the endzone five times thus far. Cooper Kupp has been the catalyst for the receiving core though as he had racked up 1,947 yards, coupled with 16 touchdowns.

The Rams also have been touted to have ones of the best defenses in the NFL this season. The Rams defense is loaded with lots of depth including Aaaron Donald, Von Miller, and Leanord Floyd. Donald has led the Rams’ stout pass rush as the team has racked up a total of 50 sacks, giving any and every quarterback they face a tough task.

As far as predictions go, many NFL experts are split. CBS sports writer Pete Prisco writes “There is something special about this Bengals team. Before the 2021 season, former Saints coach Sean Payton mentioned to me that there is something to be said about a team getting on a roll at the right time as the formula to win a Super Bowl. It happened last year with the Bucs. It’s going to happen this year with the Bengals.”

NFL writer Stephan Holder has a different perspective, writing “The Rams have an offensive and defensive arsenal that the Bengals haven’t seen yet in this postseason. Cincinnati handled the high-powered Chiefs offense, but it didn’t have to do it while also fending off a pass rush led by a future Hall of Famer like Aaron Donald. The Bengals are going to get it from both sides in this game, and it feels like it might be too much.”

As far as my prediction goes I believe that the Rams will defend their home turf and be crowned Super Bowl LVI champions. My heart is with the Bengals, but my head is with the Rams.

I think that the difference will be the Rams defense. The Bengals fate depends on a lot going right. If the Rams can get their defense to perform as they have all year, the offense will only need to play mediocre. In order for the Bengals to pull off the upset I believe that they will need to play near perfect on all sides of the ball which I believe is possible, but not likely.

In my eyes the Rams will avenge their 2018 Super Bowl loss with a win on Sunday night as Matt Stafford will finally obtain his elusive first Super Bowl win. Rams 31 Bengals 13