The matchup is set: The Los Angeles Rams will take on the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2022 Super Bowl. Hosted at SoFi Stadium, the Rams' home stadium, Super Bowl LVI is sure to be one for the history books just a year after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers became the first team in NFL history to win a Lombardi Trophy in their own stadium.
This will mark the Rams' second trip to the Super Bowl since they moved to Los Angeles, meanwhile it'll be the first Super Bowl trip for the Bengals since the 1988 NFL season — for reference, Joe Burrow wasn't born until 1996.
But what props can we look at in this surely historic matchup? Our experts are evaluating the prop market daily and we will continue updating this story throughout the week with any early picks they're locking in.
Rams–Bengals Prop Bets
1H Under 24.5
Brandon Anderson: I think we could get a slow start to Super Bowl LVI as the Rams and Bengals feel each other out a bit early.
Both Sean McVay and Zac Taylor have been a bit disappointing with their early play calling this postseason — both on early downs and early in the game. They’re both leaning too heavily on the run game — with the Bengals particularly inefficient on early down runs — and they’re making safe, conservative calls to protect quarterbacks and offenses they clearly still do not fully trust.
I’m also expecting both offensive lines to struggle some. Rams LT Andrew Whitworth is not fully healthy and could struggle against Trey Hendrickson’s pass rush, and I expect the poor Bengals O-line to have all sorts of problems against Aaron Donald, Von Miller and the Rams’ No. 1 pass rush win rate, per ESPN.
It’s much harder to play quarterback with pressure all game long, and that could also lead to both coaches leaning more on the run game early, moving the clock along and keeping scoring down.
The Bengals faced the easiest slates of opposing defenses in the NFL this season per Football Outsiders. The Rams defense, which is fifth in DVOA, will be their toughest matchup all season. Los Angeles’ defense is particularly stout in the first half — No. 2 in DVOA — and was also No. 2 against the run over the final eight games. The Bengals ranked 29th in DVOA offensively in the first quarter. It could take Cincinnati a while to adjust to the step up in competition defensively.
If you want to focus on just the Bengals, you could play the team under, or maybe back the Rams to score first. I’ll keep it simpler and play the first half under 24.5. I’ll play to 23.
- Best book as of writing:BetRivers
- Bet to: 23
Check out our free NFL odds page, which automatically surfaces the best line for every game.
