Rams Over Bengals in Super Bowl: It’s About the QB, Commanders
It is a bit of a cliche that played itself out over the course of Super Bowl Week, leading up to the "loaded'' Los Angeles Rams' 23-20 victory over the "upstart'' Cincinnati Bengals in Sunday's LVI showdown at SoFi Stadium in Southern California.
The Rams' roster is supposedly "all Hollywood,'' built into a champion with flashy trades. The Bengals roster is supposedly "gritty as Ohio,'' build into being good enough to be the championship runner-up by first being bad.
But ...
The truth - and it is a truth that should be observed by a Washington Commanders team that watched this from the couch - is more complicated than that.
And yet oh-so-simple.
It's The Quarterback, Stupid.
Los Angeles isn't just about star power, despite the work of Matthew Stafford, who last offseason escaped the Detroit Lions (and escaping from low-bidding Washington as well) hoping for this.
And the Bengals aren't, either, despite the burgeoning reputation of QB Joe Burrow.
Indeed, the MVP was Cooper Kupp, with two touchdown receptions off throws from Stafford.
But the rosters of the two finalists have one glaring thing in common, separated by more than a decade:
QB Stafford was the No. 1 player taken in his draft.
QB Burrow was the No. 1 player taken in his.
And that's where the Washington lesson starts and ends.
Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA Today Sports
There are fair comparisons to be made between the Rams and Bengals rosters and the Washington roster. There are free-agent signings and draft picks and lucky stabs. But - and stop us if you're heard us preach this before - This Is A Quarterback League.
And Washington has in recent years tried to get by at quarterback by using reclamation projects (Alex Smith, though he too was a top overall pick), owner's faves (Dwayne Haskins) and folk heroes (Ryan Fitzpatrick and Taylor Heinicke).
If Stafford is in Washington, how does this roster suddenly stack up in the NFC East? If Burrow is a Commander, how bright does the future look? And, moving back to reality, who will be the East favorite of Deshaun Watson, Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson is Washington's QB in 2022?
It is often said the NFL is a "copycat league.'' The Bengals benefitted from being bad to get Burrow; that is not advisable for Washington. The Rams got here by taking big swings including Stafford; Washington can do that.
Both of these teams were No. 4 seeds after winning their divisions, so Washington doesn't need perfection - just contention.
The rest of the Commanders roster seems primed to play on the same level with the Rams and the Bengals. It's just one position shy.
It's both complicated and yet oh-so-simple.
It's The Quarterback, Stupid.
