Are the Bengals or Rams more likely to dominate in the future?

By: Andy Davies, Jake Rajala, and Chinmay Kulkarni

The Los Angeles Rams square off against the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI. The Rams last played in the Super Bowl in Super Bowl, where they were edged out by the Pats 13-3. The Rams still have a Super Bowl win in their back pocket, as they won the Super Bowl in 2000 with the “greatest show on turf”. Meanwhile, Cincy’s last Super Bowl appearance was in 1989 when they were defeated by Joe Montana. Unfortunately, the Bengals still do not have a Super Bowl victory to their name. 

The Bengals and Rams have an exciting day as they both clash to win a Super Bowl in their quiet Super Bowl history. Regardless of who comes out on victory, each team should hold their head high and trust in their ability to compete for Super Bowl glory in 2022. With that said, an interesting question arises: which team has more promise to claim more Super Bowl rings after the Super Bowl today eclipses? Well, we are going to look at this unique angle and determine which Super Bowl featured team fields a better dynasty. 

Cincinnati Bengals (Jake Rajala):

The Bengals, who are gearing up to play in Super Bowl LVI against the Los Angeles Rams, clearly are on a better path than the LA Rams in my opinion. The Cincinnati Bengals have a cigar-smoking, 25-year-old quarterback, that threw for 4,611 yards and 34 passing touchdowns in 2021. The rise of Ja’Marr Chase was impressive and pivotal to the Bengals success, as he hauled in 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns. Chase won Offensive Rookie of The Year by a wide margin in 2021. In addition to Chase and Burrow, the Bengals have a true franchise RB in Joe Mixon. Furthermore, the Bengals have quality WRs in Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd to reel in passes from Burrow. The Bengals RB1 had 1,205 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns in the 2021 regular season. Ja’Marr Chase was third in receiving touchdowns in the NFL, while Mixon was third in rushing yards last season. The Bengals arguably have the top NFL trio in the league, plus the Cincy trio are all 25 years and younger. 

The Bengals do have a middle-of-the-pack defense, but they have top-shelf players in their unit. The pass-rushing menace Trey Hendrickson was fifth in the NFL in sacks in 2021. Hendrickson registered 14 sacks in 2021 and 13.5 sacks in 2020. The Bengals stud LB Logan Wilson hasn’t only been the leading tackler in the playoffs, but he unveiled 100 tackles and four interceptions in 13 games last season. The Bengals don’t have great depth or balance, but they are an aggressive, versatile defense that can make big plays in big moments.

An underlooked and exciting aspect of the Bengals has to lie with the potential of the Bengals offensive line. It was well noted that the Bengals passed up on selecting Penei Sewell to grab Chase in the 2021 draft. The Bengals OL is honestly dreadful, but that fact can still be reflected in a positive manner. It should be noted on how much room for improvement can be made on the offensive line and it’s really stunning that the Bengals have been so imposing on offense despite the lack of quality offensive play. The Bengals offense can reach an unearthly level of play if they jolt the offensive line with more talent. 

The unique factor that the Bengals have in their favor over the Rams is their dominance over their division and over big opponents like the Chiefs. The Bengals are 2-0 against the Chiefs in their last two matchups and they clearly have position matchups against the Chiefs that are in their favor. We witnessed the Bucs go 1-2 against the Saints in 2020-2021, then the Saints continued to show their power over the Bucs in 2021-2022, as they went 2-0 against Tom Brady. The Bengals clearly have the upper hand in their matchups against the Chiefs and they will surely face in big-time matchups down the road. Meanwhile, the Rams have struggled mightily against the SF 49ers, as they’ve been 3-7 against the 49ers since February of 2017. It doesn’t appear to matter which players the Rams add, as they have been dominated by Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers. 

Los Angeles Rams (Andy Davies):

There is one thing a team needs to form a dynasty, a great head coach. Sean McVay is certainly that. At the age of 36, he has a lot of years left in him. He has stated that he could retire after the Super Bowl, but he should have at least a few more seasons in him. After all, Stafford recently arrived in LA.

From exciting playbooks to an infectious personality, McVay has the “It” factor that not many have. If he keeps doing what he is doing, he has the coaching ability to keep the Rams as contenders no matter who he has in his 52-man roster.

The future of the Rams’ roster is somewhat in question with the amount of first-round picks they have given up. However, they have proved that they can find great talent in later rounds. Cam Akers and Van Jefferson were taken in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft and both could be key factors in Super Bowl 56. Jordan Fuller may not be available for the game but he was also a great find in the fourth round, not to mention 2019 second-round pick Taylor Rapp and fourth-round selection Greg Gaines.

Matthew Stafford will want to address some of his errors in the postseason but was still second in the league for passing touchdowns and third in the league for passing yards in 2021. He has not got age on his side like Burrow but as Brady proved, a non-mobile QB can last until their 40’s. 

Stafford still has the capability to perform at the top for at least the next seven to eight seasons. With players at the peak of their powers, such as Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp, Jalen Ramsey and Odell Beckham Jr, this team can dominate the NFC for the next five years.

One more reason why the Rams can form a dynasty is the weakness of the NFC as opposed to the AFC.

Aaron Rodgers was the MVP for a fourth time this season, but there is plenty of talk about Rodgers either retiring or moving to the AFC. 

Kyler Murray removed most of his social media photos and is said to have unfollowed the Arizona Cardinals. He may still stay in the NFC or move to the AFC. Either way, he is not anywhere near as complete as Stafford. 

Otherwise, most of the great quarterbacks in the NFC remain on the AFC side of the coin, especially now Tom Brady has retired.

Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson and Derek Carr all reside in the AFC. In the NFC, Dak Prescott is the only other QB to be seen as one of the best in the league. The Rams will take confidence in that they will not have to ensure duels with many top quarterbacks in the postseason, especially without the aforementioned Brady and potentially Rodgers to come up against. This could easily see the Rams play in the next two to three Super Bowls as well as Sunday’s. This argument can also be used against the Bengals as Burrow will have to come up against much more elite quarterbacks if he is to make a return to the big game. s

No matter who is playing, the Super Bowl is always a coin flip (no pun intended). Anything can happen and anyone can win. The Rams will feel that on their day they can beat anyone. This is why the Rams can feel they have the better chance of the two to become a dynasty.

Verdict (Chinmay):

The Rams have made the realization that instead of using the draft to pick players, trading all their picks away for more capital and established players is a better strategy for the present rather than grooming players to play in a system – to have them leave in a few years. While Sean McVay has plenty of success with a super team behind his back, rumors have surfaced this week about a potential early retirement, placing his family first. Furthermore, dynasties can be built on one of two things, a superstar quarterback, and a fantastic defense. In the case of Los Angeles, its defense is more likely to have Hall of Famers on the team, than the offense. Though an aging Matt Stafford may have the talent, he’s known to make several head-scratching plays while under center – Lions Matt Stafford rearing his ugly head. Frankly, he doesn’t seem like a Tom Brady or Joe Montana-like talent, meaning that salary cap issues may arise when it comes to paying all the players on defense. Therefore, the Rams have a smaller Superbowl window and are largely predicated on the performance of Matt Stafford.

The Bengals on the other hand are the clear, young, sexy pick for dynasty success. An explosive offense able to battle with the best in the AFC, an improving defense, and excellent special teams, Cincinnati should be head and shoulders in talent over the rest of the AFC. 

Competition however, is the biggest driving factor of the Bengals demise – with a plethora of young quarterbacks in the AFC – making the AFC championship game year after year is not a given for any team in the division. For example, the Chargers were this year’s sexy pick to make a run in the playoffs, while teams like the Bengals and Raiders went completely under the radar. Since all quarterbacks are younger and less experienced in the NFL, each year will be a sort of dart throwing competition for which equally talented team will make a playoff push. However, the Bengals even reaching the Superbowl is an accomplishment alone, well on their way to gaining significant playoff experience. Provided they don’t experience a Superbowl slump next season (hello Falcons and Eagles) they should be ready to take the next step towards a dynasty. 

Finally, it’s important to talk about homefield advantage on these two teams. Los Angeles has seen extremely quick success with both of its NFL teams while being primarily a baseball and basketball town. I predict that within 10 years, the fanbase will be grown up enough to make a difference, but in the near future, teams like the Niners will continue to have more fans to outnumber those from LA. 

Bengals fans meanwhile have experienced a quick succession into one of the best NFL fanbases. With a slightly crazy demeanor like Bills Mafia, they’ve shown that having a good NFL team after a long drought can completely revitalize a city in several ways.  

Creating a dynasty is a slow burn. The Bengals are doing all the right things in the grooming of their young players to trend in the right direction. The Bengals are cleary more geared to be a dynasty team right now.