Although this wasn’t the outcome most of us expected back in August, we have finally reached the final NFL game of the season and Super Bowl LVI is shaping up to be an exciting contest.

The NFC is represented by Sean McVay‘s Los Angeles Rams, who last won a title back in the 1999 season and last appeared two seasons later losing Super Bowl XXXVI 20-17. This is the Rams’ fifth overall appearance.

Making their third overall appearance, the AFC’s Cincinnati Bengals have never won an NFL championship and this is their time playing in the Super Bowl in 40 years. The Bengals are 0-2 in their previous showings, losing twice to Joe Montana and the 49ers.

Both teams were the respective conference’s 4-seeds, making this the first game since 1975 without at least one team being a top-3 playoff entrant.

As with any NFL finale, Sunday will be treated as a national holiday with plenty of daily fantasy and betting action taking place.

Our Conference Championships bets went a perfect 4-0, so Let’s break down how the game might go and pick our best bets for Super Bowl LVI.

Los Angeles Rams vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Current Line: Cincinnati +4; over/under 48.5

Although the Rams are technically the “road” team as the NFL rotates home/road designations every other year, the game is being played in Los Angeles on the Rams’ home field at SoFi Stadium. That undoubtedly helps sway the line a little the “visitors” in what appears to be a pretty even matchup.

The Bengals enter the contest 13-7 overall and have won four of their last five games, with three close post-season victories. LA boasts a 15-5 record and also won 4-of-5 including knocking off the defending champion Buccanneers on the road in the Divisional round and defeating San Francisco at home in the NFC Championship.

Overall, the Rams are scoring 27.2 points per game and allowing 21.4 for a point differential of 5.9. The Bengals put up 26.6 per game and surrendered 21.8, a 4.9-point differential.

Los Angeles Offense

McVay’s pre-season trade for QB Matthew Stafford paid immediate dividends. Under McVay’s tutelage, Stafford threw for 4,886 yards, his most in 10 years, and tied for his career-best with 41 touchdown passes. In the playoffs, Stafford is averaging 302 passing yards per game, with two scores and his first two rushing TDs of the entire season. Stafford has a high DFS floor and is a fairly safe play against a Bengals’ secondary that ranked 15th in PFF’s pass defense grades.

Cam Akers is the best bet to lead LA’s backfield in touches but a pair of fumbles caused Sony Michel to out-snap Akers 44-30 against the 49ers. Of course, Michel only produced 16 rushing yards on his 10 attempts and caught 1-of-2 targets for (-4) yards. Akers, who is also dealing with a shoulder injury, produced 50 yards on 14 touches in that game. Akers has far more upside as both a runner and pass-catchers but Michel could be the preferred short-yardage option. Because Akers offers more in PPR formats, he should be the choice when targeting the Rams’ backfield.

Stafford’s stellar play regularly supports multiple pass-catchers. Cooper Kupp garnered fantasy MVP honors all season for pulling the wideout triple crown. Kupp’s brilliance has carried over into the playoffs with a stellar 25/386/4 line in three LA’s three postseason tilts. Kupp is a must-start fantasy option and will be the most widely-rostered player in the slate.

Odell Beckham Jr. has four-plus grabs and 50-plus yards in each of the Rams’ playoff games, including his first 100-plus yard outing of the entire season in the NFC Championship. As OBJ’s role has grown, Van Jefferson has faded. Both will play plenty of snaps, with Beckham being a solid pivot to fantasy managers who want to target Cincinnati wideouts and Jefferson being a boom-or-bust option. Ben Skowronek should act as the WR4 and is worth a DFS dart throw.

TE Tyler Higbee is nursing a sprained MCL and may not practice at all ahead of the game. That makes Higbee a very risky pick and one that should probably be avoided unless positive news about his health drops. If Higbee is held out or limited, Kendall Blanton could play nearly every down and is value priced.

Cincinnati Offense

It’s easy to root for Joe Burrow, who came back from a torn ACL that occurred during his rookie season to lead the Bengals to their first AFC title since 1988. Burrow finished his sophomore season as the No. 7 fantasy signal-caller, two spots behind his opponent on Sunday. The matchup for Burrow against LA’s elite defense isn’t a great one but Burrow has a high-enough floor to be a solid option priced just below Stafford.

There won’t be any semblance of a committee backfield for the Bengals. Joe Mixon was the No. 4 running back in PPR leagues after finishing third in the league in rushing (1,205) and scoring 16 touchdowns in 16 games. Mixon has accumulated 18-plus touches in each of his past dozen games and is the single safest RB to spend up on. Samaje Perine has played 22.6% of Cincinnati’s postseason snaps and is worth a look as an inexpensive flex.

The Rams aren’t expected to use elite coverage corner Jalen Ramsey to shadow, which is good news for Ja’Marr Chase. The record-setting rookie is a threat to score on any target but will still see plenty of Ramsey but that’s not enough to consider this a situation to avoid.

Tee Higgins has 199 receiving yards in the past two playoff games and is perfectly capable of putting up a smash game at any time. Priced just below Odell Beckham, Higgins offers plenty of ceiling and might be more likely to find the end zone. Slot man Tyler Boyd has cooled off in the playoffs after a strong finish to the regular season. Boyd could see some of Ramsey and David Long, who has allowed a lowly 25.7 QB rating when targeted out of the slot. Mike Thomas has played all of seven postseason snaps.

Head coach Zac Taylor could try to beef up his ailing offensive line by using his tight ends to block. C.J. Uzomah will definitely be the primary pass-catcher running routes against a Rams defense that allowed the 12th-fewest fantasy points to the position. Drew Sample could see an uptick in snaps, but primarily as an in-line blocker. Uzomah hasn’t practiced with a knee injury but is fully expected to play. If he’s out, Sample would be a premium value play.

Game Day

In a game fairly even, the biggest advantage appears to be a stout Los Angeles Rams pass rush unit consisting of Aaron Donald, Von Miller, A’Shawn Robinson, and Greg Gaines. The Rams boast PFF’s top-ranked defense and run-stopping unit and have a decided advantage against Cincinnati’s 25th-ranked offensive line that allowed 55 sacks in 2021, third-most in the league.

That could make it hard for the Bengals to keep up with a potent Rams’ offense, who also have the added advantage of playing in their home stadium. Cincinnati has never played at SoFi but is 8-2 against the spread as visitors. The Bengals are 13-7 overall ATS, while Los Angeles is 10-10.

Cincinnati has outright won 6-of-7 and covered the spread in five straight. The under has hit in four of those five victories, including the AFC title game.

Los Angeles has won 8-of-9 and went 4-1 against the AFC in 2021. The Rams are 6-3 ATS since Week 13 and have fared well against the Bengals, going 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven, with the under hitting in five consecutive games.

Best Bet: UNDER 48.5; 1Q UNDER 13.5

HOW TO PLAY:

1) PICK YOUR SQUARE(s): Enter your name and email, click on a square to select it, click SUBMIT and CONFIRM.

2) NUMBERS: Wait for the start of the Big Game when we reveal which numbers have been randomly assigned to the columns

3) If the final digit of both teams’ score matches the numbers for your square, you win!

Enter HERE

Tagged Fantasy Football, FFWC, NFL Bets, NFL DFS, Super Bowl LVI

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