Cincinnati Bengals Super Bowl Odds 2022

Cincinnati Bengals Super Bowl Odds 2022

The Cincinnati Bengals have forged their way into their first Super Bowl appearance since 1988 this past weekend. The team managed to work their way to the top of the AFC North, became AFC Champions, and are now having the chance to make history after only winning four games last season. Quarterback Joe Burrow has the opportunity to be the first NFL player to be the Heisman winner, first-round draft pick, and a Super Bowl Champion in his first two years of playing in the NFL. He has been one of the biggest underdogs in the league after struggling with his play and injuries in his first year but has dominated the competition with the help of his crucial offensive players. If the Bengals are able to pull out a win against the Los Angeles Rams, they will be the first Super Bowl team in Cincinnati Bengals franchise history. The team is the underdog yet again in this matchup with a +4.5 on the spread, but they have proven experts wrong all season and may be able to do it once more this season.

Last year, we saw history with the first-ever appearance of a Super Bowl contender playing on their home turf. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were able to win at their home stadium for the first time in Super Bowl history. This year, we see this pattern again. The Super Bowl is set to be at SoFi Stadium, the home of the Rams, on Sunday, February 13th, at 5:30 PM CST. This home-field advantage helped the Buccaneers immensely last season, so the Bengals will need to overcome the crowd’s noise to take home the trophy. 

The Bengals have a stacked offense that is full of young players. Their QB1, Joe Burrow, is in his second year of the NFL, his top receiver, Ja’Marr Chase, is in his first rookie year, and the team’s top running back was drafted only four years ago. The young team has stacked up impressive stats from each player. Burrow threw for 4,611 yards in the regular season and added 842 yards in the postseason. Burrow has drastically improved his play when he is escaping the pocket after being the most sacked quarterback in the league this year. Going up against a brutal Rams’ defensive line, Burrow will need to continue being diligent outside of the pocket to stay off the turf. The Rams have the third-best sack rate in the NFL, so the offensive line will be very preoccupied, and Burrow will be expected to scramble more often than usual in his first Super Bowl appearance. Luckily, Burrow has his trusted Ja’Marr Chase to always look 

to when he’s in trouble. Chase has the fourth-most receiving yards in the league with 1,455 yards, which is an unreal stat for a rookie. Chase has the speed and agility that will be able to stump the Rams’ defense. The biggest weakness of the Los Angeles team falls to their pass completion rates. They have the third-worst defensive pass completion rate in the league, which will leave Chase with plenty of room to take the ball to the house. However, the Rams will have two weeks to practice appropriate coverage on the rookie and will put heavy coverage on Chase to prevent large gains. This will help open the run game for Joe Mixon. The running back out of the University of Oklahoma has the third-best rushing stats in the league with 1,205 yards on 292 attempts. Mixon will help preoccupy the short defense so Chase can have a more open field in the back. Mixon will have his hands full with the stacked defensive line of the Rams, but he will take advantage of even the smallest holes in the line. 

The only problem the Bengals might face in this Super Bowl matchup will be their defense. They also struggle with their passing coverage, and the top receiver in the league, Cooper Kupp, will make them pay. The Bengals did a fantastic job keeping the Chiefs’ top receivers, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill, at bay during the AFC Championship, but Cooper Kupp is a different beast to contain. Kupp put up 142 receiving yards against the 49ers in the NFC Championship and averages 116.7 yards per game in the regular and postseason, so mediocre coverage will not cut it. The Bengals will need to put heavy coverage downfield on Kupp to prevent the Rams from stealing this title.

The Bengals have the weapons offensively to win this game. The key to success will be shutting down Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp. If the Bengals are able to apply appropriate pressure, the Lombardi Trophy may be making its first appearance in franchise history. However, if they are unable to win it this year, we can expect great things from this team in the future, and we will not see the end of this very young and talented team.