Super Bowl LVI between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams is finally here.
Our experts -- Adam Burke, Dave Tuley, Jonathan Von Tobel and Matt Youmans, along with Ben Brown of Pro Football Focus -- break down the biggest sports betting event of the year from every angle, offering their opinions on the side, total and their favorite prop bets.
Super Bowl LVI: Cincinnati Bengals at Los Angeles Rams (-4, 48.5)
Adam Burke: When the playoffs began, I called the Bengals the highest variance team in the AFC, which proved to be rather true. They’ve been outgained on a yards per play basis in every game and could very well have lost all three playoff games, but here they are representing the conference in the Super Bowl.
The Rams have played up to their talent level through three games, even overcoming some really poor decisions from Sean McVay in terms of clock management and play selection. It is a fascinating matchup. It may not be anything like the one that we expected, but it is pretty cool to see McVay up against his former quarterbacks coach in Zac Taylor, so there is a lot of familiarity here.
Ultimately, the 4.5 points with the Bengals are too attractive to pass up. Cincinnati’s defensive adjustments in the second half of games throughout the season and the mid-season change to be more aggressive in the passing game with Joe Burrow have paid tremendous dividends and should be factors in this game as well.
Even if the Rams do jump out to a lead, this is truly a situation where the trailing team is never out of the game and the backdoor could be wide open. McVay has a tendency for getting overly conservative, which nearly cost the Rams against the Buccaneers and may prove costly here. If nothing else, Burrow and a potent passing attack have the opportunity to put up points quickly if Los Angeles goes into a shell.
I also believe there’s a realistic chance that the Bengals win this game, which is a pretty important belief to hold when betting on an underdog -- especially given that the history of this game is that the winner covers the spread. Much has been made of the Rams pass rush against Burrow and I understand why, but Burrow has also been under duress all season long and all he did was throw for over 4,600 yards and complete over 70 percent of his passes. I’m confident he’ll lead his team to at least a cover here, if not the outright upset.
Pick: Bengals + 4.5