Rams Open As Super Bowl LVI Favorite Over Bengals
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Caesars Sportsbook announced that the Los Angeles Rams open as 3.5 point favorites to win Super Bowl LVI over the Cincinnati Bengals. The total line is set at 49.5.
One major factor in this early decision comes based on the fact that the Rams are playing as host, at their hometown SoFi Stadium. It will be the second time in NFL history that a team has had a "hometown" Super Bowl, following what Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers accomplished in 2021, when they took home the championship in front of their hometown fans - also the first such occurrence in NFL history.
It will also be Sean McVay and the Rams second foray into Super Bowl play as partners, after their appearance against the New England Patriots in 2019.
Both teams find themselves in the Super Bowl following an electric Championship Sunday,
In the NFC Championship Game, the Rams took a tight victory over their divisional, and instate rivals, the San Francisco 49ers, 20-17, scoring 13 unanswered points before knocking the game-winning field goal in the final minutes.
On the other hand, in the AFC Championship Game, the Bengals took down the Super Bowl favorite Kansas City Chiefs with an impressive 21-point comeback, where they locked down the NFL's premier offense both late in the fourth quarter, and in overtime, before being led down the field in dominant fashion by Joe Burrow, securing their 27-24 overtime victory with a game-winning field goal to take it in front of the Kansas City crowd.
The Rams finished the season 12-5 as NFC West Division Leaders. Cincinnati finished 10-7, also divisional champions in the NFC Central.
The teams match up very well based on overall team production, with both teams scoring the same amount of points scored (460) over the course of the regular season. The Rams take a slight lead in points allowed and point differential, with 372 versus Cincinnati's 376, and 88 versus 84, respectively.
With Super Bowl LVI set to kickoff on February 13, at 3:30 p.m. PT, the odds stand to change over the coming two weeks based on injury and other factors that could change either of the team's game plans or gameplay overall.
