The Super Bowl is set. The Cincinnati Bengals won the AFC and are playing the NFC champions, the Los Angeles Rams for Super Bowl LVI.

Both teams battled adversity and are hitting stride at the right time. With the Super Bowl this Sunday everybody is wondering, “Who will win?”

The Rams come in as a 3.5 point favorite and have the advantage by having an experienced roster with veterans against an inexperienced young Bengals roster.

Most recently the Rams played in Super Bowl LIII against the New England Patriots, but lost in a defensive showdown 13-3. They also have an elite Defensive line that consists of the best defensive player in the league Aaron Donald.

They added a former Super Bowl MVP in a mid-season acquisition in Von Miller. The D-line acts as a major advantage and should be a key factor against the Bengals brittle O-line who allowed quarterback Joe Burrow to get sacked 12 times this postseason. 

The Bengals have managed to turn around the worst roster in the league to fight for a Super Bowl in the span of two years. Nobody thought they would be where they are today.

At the start of the year the Bengals had 150-1 odds to win the Super Bowl. Hometown hero Joe Burrow led the Bengals’ offense this year with a franchise record 34 touchdowns after tearing his ACL the previous season.

The defense has also stepped up during the second half of the year making big plays. For the Bengals to win the O-line has to protect Burrow enough for him to make plays.

Both teams stack up very well against each other. A key matchup to watch is Ja’marr Chase versus Jalen Ramsey. Chase is a flashy young receiver on the Bengals who has had a record breaking season. He will be guarded by arguably the best cornerback in the league, Jalen Ramsey of the Rams.

Ramsey is known for his excellent coverage and trash talk; he has been shutting down some of the best receivers in the league for six years. This should be very entertaining and will be the biggest game of both players’ careers.

Some key injuries will affect both teams and cause some problems. Bengals tight end CJ Uzomah is questionable for the game after injuring his knee in the AFC Championship game against the Chiefs. Uzomah is a veteran and is a huge leader on the team. He has had a great year and has been a key piece of the offense during these playoffs.

On the Rams side, veteran O-lineman and former Bengal Andrew Whitworth will probably play. The Bengals were aggressive this off season and put together a strong  D-line. So this should cause some problems for Whitworth.

For both Quarterbacks this game means two different things. For Joe Burrow, this game means a Super Bowl for his hometown and puts him as an elite level quarterback in the NFL.

The AFC is absolutely loaded and it may be hard for the Bengals to make it back, so Joe Burrow has to bring his game this Sunday. A win on Sunday would also put him in front of every other young quarterback in the AFC except for Mahomes.

For Matthew Stafford, this game is a career defining game. For years he was spending his career rotting away in Detroit with very little success. Throughout the year he’s been very inconsistent and that may cause a problem.  While he may be a great quarterback statistically, a Super Bowl would help his case for a spot in Canton. 

I predict this game to be a battle between two amazing offenses that will lead to a shootout. The game will start off slow in the first half, but will be very high scoring in the second half.

Joe Burrow will show great leadership, but will fall to the experience of the Rams and lose 32-30 with a signature Stafford comeback. Aaron Donald will win Super Bowl MVP by putting on a show, pressuring Joe Burrow and forcing him to make mistakes.

This is a can’t miss game that will be very exciting.

Make sure to watch the game on February 13th at 6:30 on NBC.