As the 2021-2022 NFL season comes down to its final game, it may be two teams that most didn’t predict to be alive in the end. A showdown between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams will take place Sunday, Feb. 13 at 6:30 p.m. For the second straight year a team in the Super Bowl will have home field advantage. Something that didn’t happen in NFL history has now happened the past two years. Last year’s Buccaneers were able to capitalize with home field advantage, stomping the Chiefs 31-9.
The Super Bowl has kids at the Cathedral Prep campus buzzing. A lot of talk around the school has been about Joe Burrow aka “Joe Schiesty” or “Joe Brrr.”
Senior Broderick McIntire said jokingly, “Joe Brrr is crazy, man. I swear if they made it this far and lose I’m gonna be one salty man.”
A lot of buzz around the school has been about the Bengals, and why not? The Bengals have one of the fastest rebuilds ever, and to think they’re playing in the Super Bowl already is hard to imagine. A team that finished just 4-11-1 last year now has a chance at the Lombardi Trophy.
What’s the background of these two teams, and how did they get here? Well, for the Rams it was one rocky road after handling the Cardinals in the wild card round. The Rams faced the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a thrilling matchup. The Rams jumped out to a commanding 27-3 lead, but if you know Tom Brady, you knew he wasn’t going down without a fight. The Buccaneers stormed all the way back to tie the game at 27 all with 42 seconds left. This left Matthew Stafford and the Rams too much time on the clock. Stafford hit leading receiver Cooper Kupp a pair of times to get the Rams in field goal range and walk off with a game-winning kick.
The Rams then had a matchup with the cold-blooded San Francisco 49ers. Going into the matchup the 49ers had beat the Rams the previous six times they faced them. This time things were a little different. The Rams went down early in this game 17-7 but fought back every way they could. After overcoming the 49ers start the Rams went up 20-17. This left Jimmy Garoppolo and the Niners very little time, forcing Garoppolo to throw a pick and seal the NFC Championship for the Rams.
As for the Bengals, they were able to snag their first playoff victory for the first time in 33 years with a win over the Las Vegas Raiders. The Bengals then traveled to take on the #1 seeded Tennessee Titans. This game came down to the final play in which Bengals kicker Evan McPhearson kicked a 54-yard field goal to send the Bengals to the AFC Championship.
This set up a matchup between the Bengals and Chiefs. The Chiefs had been in this position before, making the last four AFC Championships. Meanwhile, the Bengals are just a young team having fun together. The obvious pick seemed to be the Chiefs, but not so fast. Although the Chiefs jumped out to a 21-3 lead, the Bengals were able to overcome it by scoring 21 unanswered points, making it 24-21. The Chiefs were then able to drive down to tie the game at 24 going into overtime. The Chiefs won the toss, so all they have to do is score a TD to win like they did the previous week against Buffalo. But this time Patrick Mahomes was picked off. This gave Burrow and the Bengals life, and they capitalized, beating the Chiefs 27-24 in OT.
So now we’re here, the Super Bowl. Matthew Stafford vs. Joe Burrow. Jamar Chase vs Cooper Kupp. The stars align in this one, and it should be an instant classic.
Prep senior Griffin Irving added with confidence that “the Bengals are going to win. I don’t care how many stars the Rams have, the Bengals have the better QB, the underdog mentality, and are going to win this Super Bowl one way or another.”
No matter the winner of the Super Bowl, this game should be an instant classic. Get your pizza, wings and soda ready for Sunday because it should be a good one.
