(Image Credit: Marca)

After a playoff season filled with shock and awe, it all comes down to this.

In the most unexpected match-up of the 2021-2022 NFL season, the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams collide in this year’s Super Bowl.

The Underdog Story of the Season

For the first time in nearly 35 years, the Cincinnati Bengals will be competing in the Super Bowl. They are looking to win their first-ever championship in franchise history.

For as long as we can remember, they were not the odds-on favorite to reach the event. In fact, the odds were never in their favor. They were always overshadowed by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North. This season, they were quite the opposite.

This season was almost like any other season: a roller coaster ride. However, that ride was met twice with dominant wins against the Steelers and Ravens in the regular season. Plus, a close but major win against Super Bowl contenders, the Kansas City Chiefs during that same period.

Then, their postseason would turn into the most unimaginable experience possible. They would wipe the floor with the Raiders before heading into battle against the Chiefs and Titans, two of the AFC’s top-seeded teams. They managed to survive both teams thanks to game-winning field goals by the unsung hero and rookie kicker Evan McPhearson. Now, it will take more than kicks to win the big one.

Returning to Where the Super Bowl Began

This year’s super bowl will be held in Los Angeles this year at SoFi Stadium. It will be the 8th time in history that the event will be held there and the first time since 1993 that a game will be played around the city.

Now for those who don’t know, the very first Super Bowl was played at the iconic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1967. That year, the Green Bay Packers trounced the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10. It used to be called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game because the moniker did not come about until 1969.

Since then, there have been more memorable Super Bowl moments that would leave their marks in the NFL forever. Those included the dominant ’70s run of the Steelers and the Cowboys winning their last three Super Bowl titles back in the ’90s. However, no Super Bowl moment in LA or anywhere else was more historical than the Miami Dolphins’ 1972 perfect season which culminated at Super Bowl VII in 1973.

A Long Time Coming For Matthew Stafford

This Super Bowl also marks a special occasion where for the second time in its history, a team will be playing at their own stadium. This time, it’s the Los Angeles Rams. They will be vying for their second-ever Super Bowl title in franchise history. The first one was captured back in 1999 when the Rams were still in St. Louis.

One person, in particular, that is ready to earn himself the Lombardi Trophy is Rams QB, Matthew Stafford. He spent more than a decade as part of the Detroit Lions since he was the first player drafted back in 2009, but he went nowhere. He really needed a new team with a winning spirit.

That’s when the Rams head coach Sean McVay decided to take another major gamble into obtaining Stafford, giving up their 2022 and 2023 first-round draft picks. The last time a gamble of this caliber was taken was back when they recruited Jalen Ramsey and gave up their 2020 and 2021 first-round picks.

Now in his first year as part of the Rams, he ranks third in passing yards, second for most touchdowns, and fourth in QB ratings. He’s found a reliable receiver in Cooper Kupp and a determined veteran in OBJ. Not to mention he finally found a team that truly saw his potential, honed it, and turned him into a star.

The Rise of Joe Burrow

Bengals QB Joe Burrow has just entered his second year in the NFL and is now a Super Bowl contender. He has been through trials and tribulations after coming back from a torn ACL last season. A victory in the Super Bowl will be a breakthrough in his young NFL career.

Burrow has himself a reliable wide receiver in LSU teammate and offensive rookie player of the year Ja’Marr Chase. They know exactly what it’s like to play in championship-level games. Add another star receiver like Tee Higgins and a player like Tyler Boyd, who has caught the ball 77 times without dropping it, and you got yourselves a practically unstoppable offense.

At just 25-years-old, Burrow has proven this season that he can hang with the best. He has taken on and survived against elite-level veteran quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers. He is aiming to be on the same level, if not exceed it. Now he is a long way from there, but this may be just the beginning.