3 questions Cincinnati Bengals must answer vs. Rams in Super Bowl LVI

Who’s the man this week?

One of the most exciting aspects of this team is their ability to beat you in so many ways. Between Chase, Higgins, Mixon, Boyd, and Uzomah if he plays, who do you stop? You can’t stop them all unless the NFL allows the Rams to throw a couple of extra defenders out there.

The Rams feature the preeminent shutdown corner in the league in Jalen Ramsey. However, can Chase be shut down? Aside from a brief lull mid-season, no one has been able to slow Chase regardless of who or how many cover him. The extra coverage at times has led to an increase in production from Tee Higgins, especially the second half of the year.

Fine, double Higgins and Chase. Take that extra defender out of the box to double team two receivers, and Tyler Boyd from the slot, or Joe Mixon running against a light box should eat.

My point is even though the Rams have a ton of stars on defense, this offense matches up very well. Expect the Bengals to try to establish the run early and control the tempo.

Mixon has largely had a quiet second half as Burrow got completely healthy and elevated his game and this team to the next level. If he is able to hit a couple of long runs or perhaps a screen for a chunk play, that will allow the offense to open up in the secondary.

If Mixon and the run game have early success, at some point Zac Taylor should turn up the tempo and attack on offense, unleashing Burrow and company. If the game plays out this way, especially on offense, the Bengals should be in a position to win at the end.