Kick-off: 2335, 13/02/2022
Stadium: SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles
TV: Sky Sports
The star-studded Los Angeles Rams host surprise package the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI in a fascinating match-up which few could have predicted at the start of the season.
The Rams have the advantage of playing the big game in their own stadium but the Bengals have shown they are not intimidated easily, especially during the playoffs.
We have backed the Bengals on the spread in our 1.91 as the first of our Super Bowl predictions.
Los Angeles Rams Odds
The Rams are hoping to follow in the footsteps of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who won the Super Bowl last season in their own stadium.
Having topped the NFC West with a 12-5 record, they beat the Arizona Cardinals 34-11 in the wildcard round before edging out the Buccaneers 30-27 in Tampa.
The Rams returned to SoFi Stadium for the NFC Championship game and gave us two winners in our NFL predictions after rallying late to defeat the San Francisco 49ers 20-17.
They trailed 17-7 in the third quarter but reduced the deficit when quarterback Matthew Stafford connected with Cooper Kupp on an 11-yard touchdown pass and two late field goals proved decisive.
Former Detroit Lions man Stafford has plenty of experience and in Kupp and Odell Beckham Jr he has the receivers needed to pose problems for the Bengals.
Experience of the big stage could help the Rams settle quickest and, looking at the 6.50 having scored 16 during the regular season.
Cincinnati Bengals Odds
The Bengals are appearing in their first Super Bowl since 1988 and have enjoyed an incredible turnaround in fortunes this season.
They had the worst record in the NFL in 2019 which allowed them to snap up Burrow as the first draft pick and he is the first player with that status to reach a Super Bowl in his first two seasons.
Burrow had injury problems last season but has transformed his team this term and has upped his game during the playoffs, leading the Bengals to victories over the Las Vegas Raiders, the Tennessee Titans and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Beating the top seeds and the second seeds in the AFC on the road is no mean feat and the way they came from 21-3 down to beat the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium shows they will not be worried by playing in Los Angeles.
The 18-point comeback equalled the record for a Championship game while rookie Evan McPherson again showed no nerves as he kicked the winning field goal in overtime to complete a 27-24 victory.
Burrow might not get as much protection from his defense as he might like but his ability to play under pressure has been a joy to watch and this team does not know when it is beaten.
The Bengals have the best quarterback of the two teams and that makes them good value as the underdogs so we’ll include the Bengals to win by 1-6 points at 4.75 in our Super Bowl predictions.
It is also worth adding Burrow to be named Super Bowl MVP at 3.10 to our picks, given that he will almost certainly be the star of the show if Cincinnati complete a fairytale success.
Additional stats
Last result:
RAMS 20-17 49ers
Chiefs 24-27 BENGALS
Head-to-head: Rams 24-10 Bengals, Bengals 31-7 Rams, Rams 13-20 Bengals
Join bwin today and receive a 100% Deposit Bonus up to $200. Terms and conditions apply.
