A detailed preview of Super Bowl LVI

I think it’s fair to say that this isn’t the matchup we expected coming into the season. When the sportsbooks initially released their Super Bowl lines, only two teams – the Lions and the Texans – had longer odds of winning the Lombardi Trophy than the Bengals, and you would have yielded a 100-to-one payout or better, had you put money on them. As of mid-December, sitting at 7-6, they were on the outside of the playoffs looking in, among a crowded field of contenders in the AFC.

The Rams, on the other hand, were on the fringe of the top-five in terms of championship odds, but there were some serious doubts about them as well at points, entering December at 7-4 and having a few wins late in the year, which were far from convincing. Yet the two groups are now set to meet in the big game, knocking off last year’s champions in either conference along the way.

There are a bunch of storylines to follow. Former Rams assistant and now Bengals head coach Zac Taylor will try to beat his former boss in Sean McVay. Andrew Whitworth will face a Cincinnati team that he was a part of for 11 years with a chance to reach the ultimate goal, possibly at 40 years old. A re-merging superstar in Odell Beckham Jr. will meet the team he suffered a torn ACL against that ended the previous season for him. Two former No. 1 overall picks at quarterbacks will try to outduel each other. And the battle of kickers, with a highly confident rookie and a first-time Pro Bowler who’s had some issues lately.

Let’s break everything down from a schematic perspective on both sides of the ball, certain matchups to pay attention to, and how they may affect the outcome, along with identifying one X-factor on offense and defense for each squad before coming to a conclusion with a final score prediction.