Cincinnati Bengals Vs. Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl 2022 Odds, Spread Picks And Winning Predictions

The Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams are set to compete in Super Bowl LVI this evening. The game, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET and airs on NBC, is one that NFL fans will not want to miss.

This thrilling conclusion to the 2022 NFL playoffs is shaping up to be a good one, with oddsmakers setting a narrow spread on the contest.

The Rams are four-point favorites, buoyed by the fact that the team gets to play at its home SoFi Stadium. Los Angeles is just the second team—following last year’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers—to compete for a title at its own digs.

The Bengals have defied the odds plenty of times this season, however, including in all three of their playoff games leading up to Super Bowl LVI. Cincinnati has posted a 7-4 straight-up and 8-3 against the spread record in the 11 games it has been an underdog in this year.

Will the Rams finally stop the upset-happy Bengals and claim the franchise’s second Super Bowl championship, or will the Bengals cap off one of the great Cinderella stories in NFL history with an improbable victory in Los Angeles tonight?

You can read on for an against the spread pick and winning prediction for the 2022 Super Bowl, but first check out the complete viewing guide and updated odds for Super Bowl LVI courtesy of FanDuel.

Super Bowl LVI Viewing Guide

Cincinnati Bengals (13-7) vs. Los Angeles Rams (15-5)

Kickoff Time: 6:30 p.m. ET

TV Channel: NBC

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live, Peacock

Matchup: AFC No. 4 seed vs. NFC No. 4 seed

How They Reached the Super Bowl:

Super Bowl 2022 Odds, Betting Line

Point Spread: Rams -4

Total: Over-under 48.5 points

Moneyline: LAR -200, CIN +165

2022 Super Bowl Pick: Bengals +4

The Bengals may be inexperienced and underdogs in Super Bowl LVI, but this young team is on the verge of completing one of the biggest turnarounds in NFL history.

After fielding decades worth of mediocre and downright bad teams, Cincinnati has finally put together a roster capable of lifting the franchise’s first Lombardi Trophy.

It all starts under center, where Joe Burrow has emerged as one of, if not the top young quarterbacks in the league.

After a promising rookie year was marred by a torn ACL, expectations were rather low for the No. 1 overall pick coming into the 2021 season.

The LSU product quickly put the Bengals on the map, winning several big games while running an offense that was significantly elevated by the addition of Ja’Marr Chase—Burrow’s former Tigers teammate—with the No. 5 overall pick last April.

Burrow now has a chance to become the only player in history to earn a Heisman Trophy, capture a national championship and win a Super Bowl.

It’s a remarkable position to be in, especially given the quarterback is only 25 years old and has started just four seasons combined in his collegiate and professional career.

As good as Cincinnati’s offense has been with the Burrow-Chase battery spearheading it, the Bengals also have a special teams x-factor on their side.

The squad boasts a legitimate weapon in the form of rookie kicker Evan McPherson.

McPherson hasn’t missed a single field goal during the 2022 NFL playoffs. In fact, the 22-year-old has failed on just one of his last 20 attempts dating back to Week 16, the start of the team’s current six-game winning streak.

It’s an even more impressive feat when you consider he’s taken 12 total field goal attempts this postseason—four in each of the Cincinnati’s three contests leading up to Super Bowl LVI—with three makes from 50 yards or more and game-winning kicks in both the Divisional round and AFC Championship Game.

While the Bengals defense isn’t on the same level as its offense or field goal unit and can be suspect at times, the club has improved on this side of the ball during the playoffs.

After allowing an average of 361.5 yards and 27.1 points per game to opposing offenses in the regular season, the Bengals have conceded just 337.3 yards and 24 points per game during the postseason.

This has come against some top-notch foes as well, including holding back-to-back defending AFC Champion Kansas City to just 27 points after the Chiefs dropped 42 points on each of their Wild Card and Divisional round foes.

Strong play on the edge has helped the Bengals reach their first Super Bowl in over three decades.

After recording 42 sacks in 17 regular season games, Cincy is already up to eight sacks in its three playoff contests. Compare that to the Rams, who had 50 sacks—the third-most in the NFL—during the campaign but have just five so far in the postseason.

While LA’s defensive line is one of the league’s best, the Bengals have done a better job protecting Burrow after a nightmarish campaign in the offensive trenches.

No quarterback was sacked more than Burrow this year, who was taken down a whopping 55 times in the regular season. The young signal-caller made history by taking nine sacks in the Divisional round and still managing to guide his side to a win, becoming the first quarterback to ever accomplish that feat.

That protection tightened up in the AFC Championship Game, when Burrow was only brought down once by the Chiefs.

If Burrow has any time to throw tonight and Cincinnati can remain as opportunistic as it has been in recent weeks—the squad has recorded seven takeaways against a mere two giveaways in the playoffs, outperforming Los Angeles’ plus-two turnover differential in the same span—it will be tough for the Rams to come away with a victory, let alone cover the spread.

It may be worth it to take the four points here for insurance when wagering, but the moneyline would provide a solid return on investment given the Bengals are the best bet on the board and have a fantastic chance to outright win Super Bowl LVI.

Super Bowl 2022 Prediction: Bengals 24 – Rams 23

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkay/2022/02/13/cincinnati-bengals-vs-los-angeles-rams-super-bowl-2022-odds-spread-picks-and-winning-predictions/