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ESPN staff
The season finale is upon us. The Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams will square off Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, for Super Bowl LVI.
Many questions will be answered. Can the Rams capitalize on playing in their home stadium, something few teams get to experience? Will 2020 No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow and 2021 first-round pick Ja’Marr Chase cap off a dream season with the ultimate win? Will Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp put on a show and then rely on Aaron Donald to hold it down on defense? Will Bengals kicker Evan McPherson win another game on a last-second field goal? Can Odell Beckham Jr. shine on the big stage and solidify his comeback? The possibilities with this game are endless. And if these two teams show off what made them great the entire season, we should be in for a treat Sunday.
Ahead of the 6:30 p.m. ET kickoff, we asked ESPN’s analysts, writers, commentators, columnists and pundits to make their predictions for the big game. More than 60 experts so far have weighed in on the winner of Rams-Bengals, the final score of the game and who will earn the MVP award. We’ll add more predictions leading up to the game.
Here is how they picked, along with some breakdown of the numbers. And be sure to check out all of our Super Bowl preview content.
Rams have the advantage, 35-29
Of 64 experts who have weighed in, the Rams were favored by 35 of them (54.7%), while the Bengals claimed 29 votes (45.3%).
The most common predicted final scores were 27-24, picked by six of our experts. The lowest combined total was 34 (18-16). The highest combined score was 83 (45-38). The largest margin of victory predicted was 22 points (43-21). Forty-seven of the experts said this game will be decided by a touchdown or less.
Betting context: Caesars Sportsbook currently favors Los Angeles by 4.0 points. Twenty-three of the 64 experts have the Rams covering that spread, while 35 say the Bengals will cover. Six have it as a push. The over/under is 48.5 at Caesars Sportsbook. Forty-one of the experts in this pool have the game going over that total, while 23 like the under.
ESPN’s Football Power Index: FPI likes the Rams (66.3%) by an average of 4.4 points.
Predicting a Rams win (35)
Aaron Schatz, EIC at Football Outsiders: 31-20
Adam Teicher, Chiefs reporter: 27-19
Alaina Getzenberg, Bills reporter: 31-27
Alden Gonzalez, reporter: 31-20
Brady Henderson, Seahawks reporter: 26-21
Courtney Cronin, Vikings reporter: 30-21
Dan Orlovsky, NFL analyst: 27-23
David Newton, Panthers reporter: 23-20
Doug Kezirian, ESPN Chalk: 24-20
Ed Werder, NFL reporter: 34-28
Eric Woodyard, Lions reporter: 26-20
Jamison Hensley, Ravens reporter: 31-17
Jeff Saturday, NFL analyst: 31-28
John Keim, Commanders reporter: 23-16
Jordan Raanan, Giants reporter: 26-17
Laura Rutledge, NFL Live host: 35-28
Marcus Spears, NFL analyst: 31-24
Mel Kiper Jr., NFL draft analyst: 31-21
Michael DiRocco, Jaguars reporter: 31-27
Michael Eaves, SportsCenter anchor: 34-31
Michael Rothstein, Falcons reporter: 34-30
Michelle Beisner-Buck, NFL reporter: 24-21
Mike Reiss, Patriots reporter: 31-23
Mike Tannenbaum, NFL analyst: 37-21
Mike Triplett, Saints reporter: 29-20
Mike Wells, Colts reporter 27-21
Mina Kimes, NFL analyst: 31-28
Randy Scott, SportsCenter anchor: 31-20
Rob Demovsky, Packers reporter: 27-23
Seth Walder, analytics writer: 27-13
Seth Wickersham, NFL writer: 23-20
Stan Verrett, SportsCenter anchor: 31-24
Tim Hasselbeck, NFL analyst: 24-17
Tim Keown, writer: 31-14
Tim McManus, Eagles reporter: 34-20
Predicting a Bengals win (29)
Ben Baby, Bengals reporter: 28-24
Brian Custer, SportsCenter anchor: 30-28
Brooke Pryor, Steelers reporter: 21-17
Dan Graziano, national NFL reporter: 27-24
David Fleming, writer: 26-24
David Lloyd, SportsCenter anchor: 26-24
Elizabeth Merrill, writer: 21-20
Field Yates, NFL analyst: 30-26
Gary Striewski, SC on Snapchat host: 37-24
Jake Trotter, Browns reporter: 21-20
Jeremy Fowler, national NFL reporter: 27-24
Jordan Reid, NFL draft analyst: 34-31
John Buccigross, SportsCenter anchor: 18-16
Josh Weinfuss, Cardinals reporter: 27-21
Kevin Seifert, national NFL reporter: 35-31
Kimberley A. Martin, NFL reporter: 27-24
Linda Cohn, SportsCenter anchor: 24-17
Marcel Louis-Jacques, Dolphins reporter: 28-27
Nick Wagoner, 49ers reporter: 27-24
Nicole Briscoe, SportsCenter anchor: 45-38
Paul Gutierrez, Raiders reporter: 24-23
Rich Cimini, Jets reporter: 27-24
Rob Ninkovich, NFL analyst: 28-17
Ryan Smith, SportsCenter anchor: 20-18
Sarah Barshop, Texans reporter: 30-24
Shelley Smith, Chargers reporter: 43-21
Todd Archer, Cowboys reporter: 27-23
Todd McShay, NFL draft analyst: 27-23
Turron Davenport, Titans reporter: 27-24
Super Bowl MVP
Burrow was the most common pick to win Super Bowl MVP. A little bit surprising, because he’s the quarterback of the team most of our experts picked to lose the Super Bowl. Twenty-six of the 63 experts who weighed in on MVP picked Burrow, 40.6% of the vote. Seven of the past 10 Super Bowl MVPs have been quarterbacks.
Kupp was the next-most-common pick, earning 12 votes (18.8%). Donald follows closely with 11 votes (17.2), and Stafford behind him with 10 votes (15.6%). Odds below are via Caesars Sportsbook.
Joe Burrow, QB, Bengals (+220): Ben Baby, Brian Custer, Brooke Pryor, Dan Graziano, David Fleming, David Lloyd, Elizabeth Merrill, Field Yates, Gary Striewski, Jake Trotter, Jordan Reid, Josh Weinfuss, Kevin Seifert, Kimberley A. Martin, Linda Cohn, Nick Wagoner, Paul Gutierrez, Rich Cimini, Ryan Smith, Sarah Barshop, Shelley Smith, Todd Archer, Todd McShay, Jeremy Fowler, Nicole Briscoe, Rob Ninkovich
Cooper Kupp, WR, Rams (+700): Alden Gonzalez, Brady Henderson, Courtney Cronin, David Newton, Doug Kezirian, Mike Triplett, Mike Wells, Mina Kimes, Randy Scott, Seth Wickersham, Tim McManus, Jeff Saturday
Matthew Stafford, QB, Rams (+120): Aaron Schatz, Adam Teicher, Alaina Getzenberg, Dan Orlovsky, Eric Woodyard, Mel Kiper Jr., Michael Rothstein, Michelle Beisner-Buck, Rob Demovsky, Stan Verrett
Aaron Donald, DT, Rams (+1800): Ed Werder, Jamison Hensley, John Keim, Jordan Raanan, Laura Rutledge, Marcus Spears, Mike Reiss, Mike Tannenbaum, Seth Walder, Tim Hasselbeck, Tim Keown
Ja’Marr Chase, WR, Bengals (+1200): John Buccigross, Turron Davenport
Odell Beckham Jr., WR, Rams (+1600): Michael DiRocco, Michael Eaves
Tee Higgins, WR, Bengals (+4000): Marcel Louis-Jacques