Cincinnati Bengals vs Los Angeles Rams: What to Watch For In Super Bowl LVI

The Bengals are one win away from their first World Championship.

Author:
Mike Santagata
Publish date:
Feb 13, 2022 2:45 PM EST

We are just hours away from Super Bowl LVI.

The Bengals are just 60 minutes away from hoisting their first ever Lombardi trophy. The game will be decided because of 100 different variables and matchups, but let’s look at the most important ones.

Can the Bengals' Protection Slow Down the Rams' Pass Rush?

No there's not much of a chance for the Bengals pass protection to stop the Rams pass rush. They are going to get through. It might be the biggest mismatch of the game.

Everyone has talked about it ad nauseam and for good reason. The Bengals' offensive line is the worst part of the team. They consistently give up a 40+ percent pressure rate and have been beaten like a drum. This week they face what could be the greatest pass rushing defensive tackle of all time in Aaron Donald. Add on to that a Super Bowl MVP and first-ballot Hall of Famer like Von Miller and you can see why this is an issue. The Bengals don’t need to win this battle, but they can't let the Rams' pass rush take over the game. They need Burrow to avoid pressure like he did against the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.

With the way the Bengals like to play, I wouldn’t expect them to go full 7-man pass protection. It’s just not the way they like to play. Can they come up with a plan to slow down the two hall of fame pass rushers though? Is it sliding to Donald on every snap with a chip on Miller? Or is there another plan that could be effective? I’m not sure, but this is one of the most important matchups of the day. If the Rams win, it is very likely that this matchup went their way. If the Bengals pull off the upset, they certainly were able to slow down the Rams pass rush.

Can the Bengals Work the Intermediate Middle of the Field?

This goes hand in hand with the last key, but can Cincinnati find a way to attack the intermediate areas of the field? Specifically, the Rams appear to be pretty vulnerable to dig routes, which Tee Higgins is one of the best at catching. Can the protection hold up long enough for Higgins to run a 12-yard in route? If it cannot, then the Bengals will have to probably rely mostly on quick game and 3-step go balls. That is a tough way to live in the NFL, but it may be necessary. If the Bengals can work Higgins or others beyond 10 yards for these in breakers, they are in good shape to attack the Rams' secondary.

Ja’Marr Chase vs Jalen Ramsey

The Rams don't play a lot of man coverage. They dabble in some Cover 1 with a 5-man rush, but otherwise, they almost exclusively play zone coverage. However, they will play one person in man coverage within their zone defense. Jalen Ramsey will often play man coverage to the backside of trips to lock down that side and allow the rest of the team to flood the front side of the formation.

It's a way to stifle trips formations that are in place to try to overload one side of the field. When the Bengals get into trips formations, they often have Ja’Marr Chase on the backside of the formation. I would expect the Bengals to come out in trips early and run a play to see how the Rams are playing it. If they are poaching the backside safety (he is looking to take something coming across the field to the front side) with Ramsey locked in man coverage against Chase, they will need to attack down the field. If they can hit on just one of those plays they can soften up the coverage to the front side by forcing that safety to keep his eyes to the backside. If Chase is unable to get open down the field against Ramsey, then the Bengals will need to scrap that whole section of their playbook and look to put someone else in that spot.

This is a key matchup because of what Cincinnati could open up if they force the Rams to respect Chase with two players. It's not really about who wins more often, but about whether the Bengals can force the Rams to keep a safety over Chase at all times. If they can, it is so much easier on the front side of trips because they are now effectively overloading the Rams zone coverage with players. Keep your eyes open for a possible downfield shot to Chase early on the backside of trips formations.

Working the Linebackers in Space

The Rams' linebackers are their weakest unit. The Bengals will need to attack them underneath by getting Tyler Boyd on them in zone coverage or by throwing quick dumpoffs to the running backs against man coverage. Make those players get in space and try to tackle the talented pass catchers of the Bengals. This is one of the areas that the Bengals have a true mismatch and they need to exploit it. The nice thing about this one is that the Bengals don’t even need to pass protect well for it. These are either very quick passes or screens. I do not think the Rams defense is extremely good when it comes to handling screens, so hitting a few explosive plays off of that could be an easy way to generate offense. Those hall of fame pass rushers want to rush the passer. Let them come in and then toss a screen pass right over their heads.

Trey Hendrickson vs Andrew Whitworth

Whitworth has not been his usual self this season. The age is certainly starting to show even if he has played decent. Hendrickson has the upper hand in this matchup, but can he exploit it? I think both stylistically and talent-wise he has the advantage, but Whitworth is a vet with quite a few tricks up his sleeve. If Hendrickson can get pressure consistently or if he can just get a game changing play by beating Whitworth in pass protection, it could swing the game.

D.J. Reader vs Wide Zone

The most important defender in the Bengals' divisional round win over the Titans was D.J. Reader and his ability to get into the backfield consistently. The Titans couldn't block him one on one and he completely took over the game.

The Bengals need him to do the same thing against the Rams, who have a similar run game. Both teams' top runs are duo and wide zone, which Reader destroyed against the Titans. Even more reason that Reader should dominate today is that the Titans interior of their offensive line is better at blocking on those plays.

He defeated multiple guys that are fantastic at blocking those run plays. So he should just dominate the Rams again right? It’s not that simple. Not only do we have to think about the human element of a player’s performance being variable, but also the Rams are not going to allow the Bengals to get into the 46 bear and 6-1 tilt fronts against them. They just pass the ball too well for that to happen. Can the Bengals still force solo blocks against their best run stuffer while being in more pass friendly defenses? That is the true battle here because I think if they get Reader one on one with any of these offensive linemen, he will dominate them.

Mike Hilton vs Cooper Kupp

When the chips are on the table and the Bengals need to get into man coverage, it’s going to be Mike Hilton in man coverage against the Offensive Player of the Year. The last time that these two faced off was in 2019 and Cooper Kupp didn't have a catch. That included a dozen reps of man coverage, but Kupp is a better player now. Can Hilton break up a few passes, be a pest on his release, and stick with him when he runs choice routes? If he can win a few of those matchups on key downs, the Bengals' defense is in great shape. I would expect that he will have help in the form of a safety dropping down in many instances, but he still needs to play his part in the coverage. Like the Rams pass rush, there is no stopping Kupp. He is too talented and gets too many targets to be held to zero catches again. However, you can slow him down. If Hilton is able to slow him down again, the Bengals' defense will have thrown a wrench directly into one of the biggest cogs of the Rams' offense.

Can the defensive backs catch the inevitable Stafford mistake?

Matthew Stafford for better or worse puts the ball in harm's way. The most obvious example of this is the floater to Tartt in the NFC Championship Game. If Tartt caught that pass, this whole article could be about the keys to beating the 49ers. Instead, he dropped it and the Rams were able to come away with the victory. So I saved what I think is one of the most important keys for last. If the defensive backs can turn one or two of those passes that go right to them into interceptions, the Bengals will probably win the game. It’s very difficult to overcome multiple turnovers. On the other hand, if the Bengals' corners and safeties drop those interceptions, the Rams most likely win. You need to capitalize on the opportunities presented to you. Do not allow Stafford off the hook when he throws an interceptable pass. These defenders need to come down with those interceptions if the Bengals are going to win the game.

All of these keys and matchups are just a fraction of the variables in this Super Bowl. This is just scratching the surface with what I think are the most important factors. Look for some of these to play out in real-time when watching the game. Buckle in because this game is going to be a wild ride for Bengals fans. Cincinnati is 60 minutes away from their first world championship.

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