Super Bowl LVI will soon be upon us, and for the second straight season, one of the teams will participating will be doing so in their home venue. The Los Angeles Rams will take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, February 13, in SoFi Stadium, in Inglewood, CA, which is indeed their house.
This big game features a match-up of two of the most elite wide receivers in the NFL, and it’s pretty rare to see talent at the WR position, on Super Sunday, to this level.
While the LA Rams’ Cooper Kupp and the Cincinnati Bengals Ja’Marr Chase won’t square off head to head, obviously, the two wideouts will clearly have direct consequence on this NFL title game.
“You’ve got to contain Cooper Kupp on third downs,” he said.
“They need to be able to have this guy contained and get off the field on third downs. Number two, you have to have your twos and threes on offense make plays when their names are called. [Tee] Higgins and [Tyler] Boyd need to go out and make plays because you know for a fact that the Rams are going to be focusing all of their energy and coverage on Ja’Marr Chase.”
One of the greatest third down, move the chains receivers of all time, Edelman gave more analysis.
“Lastly, they need to get pressure on [Matthew] Stafford on defense without blitzing,” he added.
“Against the blitz, Stafford has been lighting people up. But when he has pressure in his face, and he has more coverage, and if you can rush four and drop everybody into coverage, that’s how they’re going to win the game.”
Edelman also gave his pick for the big game: “I think the Rams are going to win, but I do not think they are going to cover. I think the Bengals will cover. I will go with a 27-24 [Rams win]. Close game, defensive line, Aaron Donald just looking too stout.”
Brandon Marshall, another NFL receiving legend in his own right, and current analyst for CBS and Showtime, discussed what makes the Rams wide receiving corps so elite.
“What makes this team special is they know who the guy is,” Marshall said.
“Odell Beckham Jr. is the No. 1 receiver on most teams…but here he knows that ‘I need to go pull coverage.’ When your time is called, then you may get the ball. But until then, do your job. That’s what makes this unit so special.”
Flipping over to the other side of the ball, Ray Lewis, Hall of Fame Linebacker, discussed how the Rams can try and slow down Chase.
“If you do not man-up Ja’Marr Chase, it’s going to be a long day,” said Lewis.
“They’re going to have to figure out their man, Jalen Ramsey, on Ja’Marr Chase, and cloud everything else on the back end.”
Indeed, Ramsey is one of the best cover corners in the NFL, and he is handsomely paid to be as such. The Rams are favored -4.5, but the Bengals have defied the odds all season long, and well into the postseason.
Super Bowl XXI MVP Phil Simms elaborated on this concept.
The Bengals are coming out of nowhere,” he said.
“I never would have picked them for the playoffs before the year started. Joe Burrow was coming off an injury, and we thought it would be a rough year for the Bengals, but it’s turned out to be the opposite. It’s truly a Cinderella story. In the NFL and in sports, teams don’t just come out of nowhere. They are Cinderella, and we’re going to find out if that shoe fits.”
When it comes to making his pick for the game’s winner though, Simms is going Hollywood all the way.
“The Rams have too many stars on both sides of the football,” he said.
“But the second tier of guys are really good too. It’s not just about their stars, we don’t pay enough attention to all the other guys that make plays for their offense and the defense. I’m going to take the Rams 30-20 over the Cincinnati Bengals.”
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.