Heading into Super Bowl LVI, one of the questions facing the Los Angeles Rams when they had the football was if the Cincinnati Bengals would rely on eight men in coverage and if they did, how Matthew Stafford would handle those looks.
If you recall the AFC Championship game, the Bengals used eight men in coverage on 45% of their snaps in the second half and overtime against the Kansas City Chiefs. That helped Cincinnati hold the Chiefs to just three points after halftime, enabling the Bengals to pull off the comeback.
Would Stafford do what Patrick Mahomes did in that game, becoming impatient and trying to force throws into covearge? How Stafford would handle those moments was a huge question facing the Rams this week.
With Los Angeles driving late in the first half, the Bengals dialed up a drop-eight coverage. Stafford had a big test against the three-man rush:
.@jlbiii3, BALLHAWK 🤫#SuperBowl on NBC pic.twitter.com/rHDqAUqTm4
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) February 14, 2022
Instead of points, the Bengals offense was coming onto the field.
The play from safety Jesse Bates III was acknowledged on Twitter by Carolina Panthers cornerback Stephon Gilmore:
Bates nice he’s very underrated…. Great play
— The Gilly Lock (@BumpNrunGilm0re) February 14, 2022
But this interception might foretell what the second half of Super Bowl LVI is going to look like. The Rams have struggled to run the football so far in this game, as the Los Angeles offense has just 26 rushing yards on 12 attempts. Cincinnati defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo might feel comfortable using more of these drop-eight looks in the second half.
If he does, Stafford is goign to need to learn from this lesson if the Rams are going to win Super Bowl LVI.
