NEWSLETTER
My preference would be to watch the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl.
But with that option not being available, we’ll settle for a matchup between the first two teams the Bears played to begin the 2021 season.
Had you told me the Rams were Super Bowl bound after their Week 1 thrashing of the Bears, I’d have whole-heartedly been on board with you. The Rams were looking like a juggernaut from the get-go. Matthew Stafford finally had a team around him that could block, catch, run, and defend. On the other side of the field was a Bears team that was looking like one that was bound to the fate of pending regime change. And, hey, both of those things turned out to be true. The Rams took a more circuitous route by starting hot and stumbling in the middle before turning it on for the postseason. As for the Bears, well, you know all to well how that story went.
Then again, had you told me the Bears would have beaten the AFC’s representative in Super Bowl LVI, I’d have thought that Chicago’s football team would’ve had a better fate than the one it ultimately had in 2021. And had you told me it was the Bengals, I’d have given you a side-eye look of disbelief. The Bengals? Really?
This feels like such a long time ago:
Did We Just Witness the Start of the Justin Fields Era? BEARS 20, Bengals 17https://t.co/0juPqXflYd
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) September 19, 2021
And yet, here we are on Super Bowl Sunday with the Bears’ first two opponents of this past season squatting off for Super Bowl glory. Just how we drew it up!
Game Info
Cincinnati Bengals (10-7, 1st AFC North) at Los Angeles Rams (12-5, 1st NFC West)
Kickoff Time: 5:30 p.m. CT
Broadcast: (TV) NBC: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya, Katheryn Tappen, Terry McAulay – (Radio) Westwood One (SiriusXM Ch 88): Kevin Harlan, Kurt Warner, Laura Okmin, Mike Golic, Gene Stratore – (Stream) NBC Sports, Peacock, NFL, Telemundo Deportes, Yahoo
Site: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, Calif.
Referee: Ron Torbert
Odds: Rams -4 – O/U: 48.5 (via DraftKings Sports Book)
Game Preview
Super Bowl LVI: Preview, Predictions, and Everything You Need to Knowhttps://t.co/KA8o7PVxXC pic.twitter.com/l4FOlBZ0Jy
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) February 11, 2022
Bengals Projected Starters
Offense
• QB Joe Burrow
• RB Joe Mixon
• WRs Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd
• TE C.J. Uzomah
• LT Jonah Williams, LG Quinton Spain, C Trey Hopkins, RG Hakeem Adeniji, RT Isaiah Prince
Defense
• LDE Sam Hubbard, LDT D.J. Reader, RDT B.J. Hill RDE Trey Hendrickson
• SAM Markus Bailey, MIKE Keandre Jones, WILL Logan Wilson
• LCB Eli Apple, RCB Chide Awuzie
• FS Jessie Bates III, SS Vonn Beal
Specialists
• Evan McPherson (kicker), Kevin Huber (punter, holder), Clark Harris (long snapper), Chris Evans, Trenton Irwin (kick and punt returns)
Rams Projected Starters
Offense
• QB Matthew Stafford
• RB Sony Michel
• WR Cooper Kupp, Odell Beckham Jr., Van Jefferson
• TE Tyler Higbee
• LT Andrew Whitworth, LG David Edwards, C Brian Allen, RG Austin Corbett, RT Rob Havenstein
Defense
• LDE A’Shawn Robinson, NT Greg Gaines, RDE Aaron Donald
• WLB Leonard Floyd, LILB Travin Howard, RILB Troy Reeder, SLB Von Miller
• LCB Darious Williams, RCB Jalen Ramsey
• FS Taylor Rapp, SS Nick Scott
Specialists
• Matt Gay (kicker), Johnny Hecker (punter, holder), Matthew Orzech (long snapper), Brandon Powell (kick and punt returns)
Inactives
Final inactives:#Bengals: DT Mike Daniels, CB Vernon Hargreaves, DE Wyatt Ray, DT Tyler Shelvin, G Fred Johnson, WR Trenton Irwin, RB Trayveon Williams#Rams: QB Bryce Perkins, RB Jake Funk, G Tremayne Anchrum, DL Bobby Brown, S Blake Countess, LBs Chris Garrett, Terrell Lewis
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 13, 2022
