The NFL couldn't have asked for six better football games during its divisional and conference championship rounds following the 2021 regular season, but the league got it. Super Bowl LVI is now set after two games that went down to the wire Sunday.
The surprising Cincinnati Bengals will meet the Los Angeles Rams for the Super Bowl on February 13 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
The Bengals, who won the AFC North after finishing last in the division during 2019 and 2020, won the AFC Championship with an overtime victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, 27-24, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. This was an NFL-record fourth-consecutive year the Chiefs hosted a conference championship—losing after the 2018 season and winning the next two years.
The Rams, winners of the NFC West, defeated division rival San Francisco 49ers, 20-17, in a defensive standoff Sunday night. The Rams became the first team to host a playoff game in the site of that season's Super Bowl, and they hope to become the second team to win a Super Bowl in their home digs, matching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season.
The Super Bowl parties are expected to be rather lavish in Los Angeles, and the tickets to the game could reach outrageous prices before kickoff.
Tickets for upper deck along the goal line at SoFi Stadium are listed at $5,961 (each) on Sunday night, according to StubHub.com. And those are the cheapest tickets listed.
The entire upper deck is listed above that, with some reaching above $7,000.
Where are the most expensive seats (per seat)?
$8,000-plus — Plaza End Zone
$8,500-plus — Upper Deck, 50-yard Line
$8,700-plus — Plaza End Zone (200 Level)
$11,000-plus — Lower Level End Zone
$11,500-plus — Middle Level, Mid-Field (300 Level)
$13,000-plus — Lower End Zone (Row 9)
$14,000-plus — Lower Club Level
$29,100-plus — Upper VIP, 50-yard Line
$33,450-plus — Lower VIP, Row 3 on 30-45 yard Line
$97,000 — Owners Suite
It's highly unlikely the owner's suite will be available for resale through a third-party site, but that's the listing price, per seat, in the suite.
The Rams open as a 4-point favorite over the Bengals, according to the sportsbook FanDuel.com. The opening over/under is 49.5 for the game. There are a myriad of spreads already listed for the Super Bowl, from first half totals to anytime scorers in the game to result of the first drive and the first half spread—and more.
The Bengals will be the designated home team this year as it rotates between AFC and NFC each season. There are no odds yet as to whether the Bengals will wear home or away uniforms yet.
The Bengals won their last two games on the road. After a wild card win at home over the Las Vegas Raiders, the Bengals went to Nashville and beat the Tennessee Titans on a last-second field goal. Then they went on the road to beat the two-time defending AFC champion Chiefs, this time in overtime. The Chiefs tied the game to send it to overtime—after the Bengals overcame a 21-3 deficit to take a 24-21 lead.
The Chiefs won the overtime coin toss, but quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw a pass that was deflected and intercepted. Bengals second-year quarterback Joe Burrow took his team down for a game-winning field goal by rookie kicker Evan McPherson.
The Rams had lost six-straight games to the 49ers prior to Sunday, and they had to overcome a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to rally and win.
The Rams and Bengals have combined to win one Super Bowl in their histories. The Bengals made it to the Super Bowl twice in the 1980s, losing both times to the 49ers. The Rams lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers following the 1979 season. That game was played in the Rose Bowl. Los Angeles played its home games in the L.A. Coliseum at that time, but was the first team to play the big game in their home town.
The Rams moved to St. Louis and won the Super Bowl following the 1999 season over the Tennessee Titans, and they lost to the surging New England Patriots two years later. The Rams moved back to Los Angeles and made it back to the Super Bowl following the 2018 season but lost to the Patriots.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Scott McDonald is a Newsweek deputy night editor based in Cape Coral, Florida. His focus is assigning and writing stories ... Read more
