The Super Bowl is coming up this weekend and all eyes are on the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams. While some expected the Rams to make it to this point, nobody foresaw the Bengals getting here. They had 66/1 odds to win the Super Bowl to start the season.
With the game finally upon us, let’s take a look at the matchup and the total to see where there’s value:
Cincinnati Bengals @ Los Angeles Rams
The Bengals made it here with a lot of swagger and confidence. Second-year quarterback Joe Burrow has stepped up and helped everybody buy into this year’s team. A year removed from finishing dead-last in their division, they won 10 games, won the AFC North, and are now in the Super Bowl.
Their playoff journey started by knocking off the Las Vegas Raiders at home, then the No. 1 seeded Tennessee Titans on the road and the No. 2 seeded Kansas City Chiefs on the road.
Burrow and this phenomenal wide receiver group consisting of Ja’Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd, and Tee Higgins just keep on cruising right now.
As for their opponent, the Los Angeles Rams, they have plenty of established star power. They stomped the Arizona Cardinals in the Wild Card Round, then they avoided a massive collapse against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before finally beating the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
Matthew Stafford is proving to be a winning quarterback in his first year with the organization. Plus, the duo of Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham Jr. are creating constant problems for opposing defenses.
Speaking of defense, Los Angeles has a stellar one. Jalen Ramsey is arguably the best cornerback in the game, taking away half the field on the majority of plays. On top of that, they have Aaron Donald, who is the best defensive tackle in football and playing alongside Super Bowl champion Von Miller on the defensive line to make this group even scarier. Everybody may be looking at the Rams to win this game due to their talent, but it isn’t wise to count out Burrow and this confident Bengals squad after what they have accomplished this postseason.
Total Expecting A High Scoring Affair
The current total for this game is set at 48.5 for the time being. The score actually seems more likely to hit the under, though. While these two offenses could certainly explode for a ridiculous number of points, nerves are likely going to drop the percentage that a high-scoring game ensues. There are a number of new players to this big game – including on the Bengals side. Cincinnati has a lot of young players that haven’t been in the light like this plus even Burrow could be phased by the atmosphere to start the game.
As for the Rams, Stafford hasn’t been anywhere close to this moment after struggling with the Detroit Lions for the majority of his career. Chances are that neither of these teams starts to hit a stride until the start of the second quarter, and with two strong defenses at play, the total will likely remain under 48.5.
For more coverage of Super Bowl 56, take a look at our analysis of the best Super Bowl 56 prop bets.