- Mania Madness II – Paul Bearer Region Finals - March 28, 2024
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- Mania Madness II – Round Of 8: Paul Bearer Region - March 14, 2024
The Los Angeles Rams have pushed their way into their second Super Bowl in four seasons. With an arsenal of weapons John Wick would be jealous of, the Rams have taken out their NFC competition and are ready to finish the job (this time around).
In their way is the Cincinnati Bengals, who won the AFC in a most improbable fashion. Cincinnati has won three out of the last five meetings versus the Rams, but this one is for all the marbles.
Keys To The Game
The Rams have to stay efficient on offense and stay away from the turnovers. They have a total of five turnovers in the last two rounds and Cincinnati has feasted off opponents mistakes, turning a bunch of those mistakes into points.
Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Odell Beckham Jr. and company need to attack the Bengals’ secondary early and often. Chidobe Awuzie has been solid for the Bengals, but everyone else has been a bit shaky at best. The Rams should keep attacking on the edges, which should stretch out the Bengals’ defense and leave some room for some underneath plays.
Playing this spread out kind of offense will help keep Stafford upright and leave some room for big run plays.
The Rams will have to apply some major pressure up front. They are going up against an offensive line that has given up 12 sacks in the playoffs. Los Angeles has to get to Burrow in this game and rack up a few sacks or least a few hits. They have to disrupt his timing and keep the Bengals from the big plays they’ve had all season.
The secondary needs to finish plays off, whether it be tackling in the open field or catching interceptions. The Rams missed a few tackles and dropped a couple of would be interceptions in the NFC title game and that can’t happen here. On third downs especially they need to finish off the drives and stay away from the big penalties.
X- Factor
Defensive Back Jalen Ramsey: Ramsey will get a bunch of one on one opportunities against Ja’Marr Chase in this game. Keeping the aforementioned big plays down will start with keeping a lid on the Burrow- Chase combination. Ramsey has the tools to handle the task and it will also free up the rest of the defense to attack other targets and the quarterback himself.
