Sean McVay has the Rams back in the Super Bowl for the second time in four seasons. Maybe this year they will score a touchdown.
In 2018, the Rams lost the lowest scoring Super Bowl in history, 13-3, to the New England Patriots. All jokes aside, the Rams are in prime position to win their first title since moving from St. Louis to Los Angeles.
Both teams entered the playoffs as the No. 4 seed, but the Rams are less of a surprise story. While the Bengals hadn’t won a playoff game in more than 30 years, the Rams have been regulars in the postseason since moving to California in 2016.
The two teams are both led by young coaches. Bengals coach Zac Taylor is 38 years old and Sean McVay could become just the second coach to win the Super Bowl at age 36.
The Rams will not technically have home-field advantage, but the game will be played at SoFi Stadium, the location of the team’s home games. This is the second straight year that a team will play on their home turf. The Buccaneers won last year’s game against the Chiefs in Tampa Bay.
The Rams dominated their opening round matchup against the Arizona Cardinals and stormed out to a 27-3 lead against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but needed a last-second Matt Gay field goal to secure the win. Against the 49ers, the Rams trailed early, but a 13-point fourth quarter sealed a 20-17 conference championship.
After spending 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions, Matthew Stafford has thrived in his first season with the Rams. Only Tom Brady threw more passing touchdowns than Stafford’s 41 this season. He’s gone 3-0 in the postseason after going 0-3 in his Lions postseason career.
The main threat for the Rams is wide receiver Cooper Kupp. By all measures, Kupp is having one of the greatest seasons by a wideout in NFL history. After having just one career 1,000 yard season, Kupp caught 16 touchdowns and a league-high 1,947 receiving yards. That was 17 yards shy of Calvin Johnson’s all-time record, albeit Kupp played in one more game. However, he did set the record for most scrimmage yards by a receiver. Kupp is not the only threat that quarterback Matthew Stafford has outside. The Rams acquired Odell Beckham Jr. in November and he has filled in nicely in the absence of Robert Woods. He recorded his first 100-yard game against the 49ers, but has been a solid weapon since he was released by the Cleveland Browns.
The Rams enter the matchup as favorites for the second straight week, but that’s not an unusual feeling for the Bengals. This is the third straight week they are underdogs in the playoffs.
For the Rams, a Super Bowl win would anger St. Louisans, but would also energize a fanbase in California that seems to be slowly growing after years away from Los Angeles.
Max Baker can be reached at max@chathamnr.com and @maxbaker_15.