Super Bowl will be decided by play of the quarterbacks
LOS ANGELES — Setting aside the different paths the Rams and Bengals took to Super Bowl LVI, the game itself will boil down to the same thing all big games do.
What quarterback will seize the moment sufficiently enough to lead his team to a win?
There are layers to that eventual answer that go above and beyond the talent of the Rams’ Matthew Stafford and the Bengals’ Joe Burrow.
It also might have little to do with the sizable experience edge Stafford, a 13-year veteran, has over Burrow, in his second season.
In fact, the manner in which each quarterback has played during the postseason creates a bit of a lean toward Burrow, the cool and collected youngster from LSU who seems to rise to the ever-escalating stakes of each playoff round.
Working behind a suspect offensive line that’s left him vulnerable to pressure and sacks, Burrow has nevertheless calmly led the Bengals to upset wins over top-seeded Tennessee and the two-time defending AFC champion Kansas City.
“He’s in this game because he’s willed that team to a bunch of wins,” said Stafford. “And that’s an impressive thing for a guy of his age.”
That isn’t to say Stafford has played to a lesser level. To the contrary, the player some had questioned worthy of leading a team to this point after languishing in Detroit for 12 years has delivered decisive performances in the first three playoff wins of his career.
Given the chance to finally dance on the postseason stage, Stafford has shown plenty of moves and delivered the necessary goods.
But he’s done so surrounded by a supporting cast worthy of Oscar-nominated actors in a big-budget production. Meanwhile, Burrow has done his thing while surrounded by young up-and-comers in a low-budget independent operation that has cut more than a few corners.
The question becomes, can Burrow continue to deliver performances that help lift the Bengals above and beyond their shoestring budget. Or, when it gets right down to it, will the star-studded Rams playing in and around Stafford, their leading man, be enough to deliver Los Angeles a Super Bowl championship?
It’s a daunting task for the Bengals. Rams wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham Jr. present a pick-your-poison proposition for which any choice leaves them vulnerable.
Defensively, the Rams have a loaded defensive line featuring two future Hall of Famers in Aaron Donald and Von Miller, a cornerback in Jalen Ramsey who is on an early track to Canton and a suddenly revitalized Eric Weddle patrolling the back end and organizing the entire defense.
“Obviously guys like Aaron Donald, Leonard Floyd and Von Miller are going to get pressure,” Burrow said. “It’s going to come down to one, how do I handle the pressure? How I’m able to get the ball out of my hands into the hands of my playmakers in space. And two, how we’re going to be able to handle them upfront? I have the trust and confidence in our offensive line to make it happen.”
Burrow and the Bengals have handled all comers thus far in the postseason. But an argument can be made they haven’t had to deal with a team as talented as the Rams.
That suggests Stafford merely needs to play within himself and the Rams will be fine. While Burrow has to play above and beyond himself, or else.
The edge should be with the Rams as a result. But sometimes a star the caliber of Burrow has the ability push a team far beyond what was originally thought possible.
That could be the Bengals. Or not.
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.