Love him or hate him, Odell Beckham Jr. has reveled in the new surroundings of his new team in Los Angeles. (Los Angeles Rams)
Bengals v. Rams is a fitting conclusion to one weird NFL season
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Four downs on Cincinnati Bengals (13-7) v. Los Angeles Rams (15-5)
First down: Best of the worst or worst of the best?
Befitting an NFL season of weird occurrences, the Bengals and Rams emerged with the worst combined record (22-12, .647) of teams in a Super Bowl matchup. It’s the first Super Bowl of two teams seeded fourth or worse in their conference. Further, none of the previous 55 Super Bowls pitted starting quarterbacks with career records in regular-season games under .500. Joe Burrow is 12-13-1 in two seasons with the Bengals; Matthew Stafford is 86-95-1 in 12 years with the Lions and one with the Rams. But each quarterback stepped up in the postseason and led his team to a Super Bowl that nobody envisioned in September. In the AFC playoffs, the Bengals defeated the Raiders (26-19), Titans (19-16) and Chiefs (27-24) with Burrow completing 75 of 109 passes for 842 yards, with 4 touchdowns v. 2 interceptions, for a passer rating of 96.2. In the NFC playoffs, the Rams beat the Cardinals (34-11), Buccaneers (30-27) and 49ers (20-17) with Stafford completing 72 of 100 passes for 905 yards, 6 TD v 1 INT, for a rating of 115.6. The teams have some indelible connections. Bengals coach Zac Taylor worked under Rams coach Sean McVay as assistant receivers coach (2017) and then quarterbacks coach (2018). Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth made 164 starts in 11 seasons with the Bengals before moving to the Rams in 2017 and making 71 starts over the past five seasons. The Bengals are the latest example of NFL teams capable of going from worst-to-first virtually overnight. They were last in the AFC North in 2020 with a 4-11-1 record. As a franchise, they are 0-2 in Super Bowls and are underdogs by as many as 4 ½ points in this game. The Rams last appeared in the Super Bowl in the 2018 season. They are 1-3 in Super Bowls, winning as the St. Louis Rams in the 1999 season. In the pre-Super Bowl era, the Rams were 2-3 in NFL Championship Games, winning their first in 1945 as the Cleveland Rams.
Second down: Elite receivers-R-US.
Aside from the McVay coaching tree and offensive system, the common thread between the Bengals and Rams is both are identified with a truly elite wide receiver. Ja’Marr Chase of the Bengals was NFL offensive rookie-of-the-year. Cooper Kupp of the Rams was NFL offensive player-of-the-year. In his first NFL season, Chase set Bengals franchise records with 81 receptions for 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns. He added 20, 279, 1 in the postseason. In his fifth NFL season, Kupp became only the fourth receiver in history to win the receiving “triple crown,” leading the NFL with 145 receptions for 1,947 yards and 16 TD. He added 25, 386, 4 in the postseason. Both receivers are complemented by splendid, if not elite, pass catchers, to protect them from excessive double-teaming. In Chase’s case, it’s Tee Higgins (74, 1,091, 6) and Tyler Boyd (67, 828, 5). Kupp had Robert Woods (45, 556, 4) before he tore an ACL in Game 9. Woods was replaced by Odell Beckham Jr. over the last eight games (27, 305, 5). No. 3 Rams receiver is Van Jefferson (50, 802, 6). So both teams obviously rely on the passing game. The Bengals ranked seventh in passing; the Rams were fifth. Running the ball? The Bengals were 23rd; the Rams 25th.
Third down: Love him or hate him, he’s OBJ.
It’s impossible for Browns fans to keep their eyes off polarizing receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in this game. Half may be watching to see if Beckham crashes in the biggest game of his career, while the other half may be hoping for Beckham to reach his personal zenith in the most-watched event in American professional sports. Depending on one’s perspective, Beckham either sabotaged the Browns’ season by calling out quarterback Baker Mayfield via his father’s retweet of an incriminating “lowlight” video and forcing his release from the team, or Beckham proved the Browns’ offensive failings by flourishing with his new team and quarterback in Los Angeles. In his final Super Bowl interview on Friday, Beckham expressed only mild regret for not having “closure” with former teammates with the Browns but admitted he still has not talked to Mayfield since the quarterback was thrown under – and run over – the bus by the video. “Having to leave and leave these guys you had lifetime friendships with, they’re your brothers, and it was just so abrupt,” Beckham said about his messy divorce. Beckham has never disavowed the video retweeted by his father, which depicted Mayfield misfiring for -- or avoiding -- an open Beckham in several games this year. “Like I said earlier about closing doors and getting to have closure, I’m sure that conversation will be had at some point,’’ he said of not reaching out to Mayfield. An interesting perspective of Beckham’s success with the Rams came from Eli Manning, who suffered similarly from Beckham criticism as teammates with the Giants. On Morten Andersen’s Great Dane Podcast, Manning said, “Yeah, you wouldn’t think LA, drama, and Odell – on paper it doesn’t work. I think it’s just the fact that you know, he’s just learned his lesson a little bit. He’s grown up some.”
Fourth down: Coincidence, or not?
There is another common ground shared by the Bengals and Rams – discipline. It’s been overlooked and overshadowed by the teams’ other storylines. The Bengals were second in fewest penalties (72) and first in fewest penalty yards (620). The Rams were tied for third in penalties (76) and second in yards (637).
The pick: Bengals 26, Rams 24.
My record: 9-8.
