Super Bowl LVI preview: 4 story lines, 3 X factors, 2 unsung heroes and 1 prediction

When: 5:30 p.m. Sunday, SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, Calif.
TV: Ch. 11
Line: Rams by 4

Are Stafford, Ramsey the missing pieces?

A year ago, the "all-in" Rams gambled another chunk of their future on Sean McVay's notion that Matthew Stafford, a 33-year-old quarterback who had never won a playoff game, was the missing piece to the Super Bowl puzzle. It cost Los Angeles first-round picks in 2022 and '23. This came after trading for cornerback Jalen Ramsey cost the Rams first-round picks in 2020 and '21. This year will mark the sixth of seven consecutive years the Rams won't have a first-round pick. But if they win the Super Bowl at their $5 billion home stadium, every bold, expensive move will be justified and celebrated for years to come. If they lose, the season is a failure. No pressure, guys.

Swag in Cincy? Say it's so, Joe

Like the Vikings, the Bengals are one of 12 teams that haven't won a Super Bowl. Unlike the Vikings, the Bengals reached this year's game with a young quarterback whose talent and swag make him a natural-born leader and a Joe Namath-sized superstar. If Joe Burrow does win, it's the greatest three-year run ever by a 25-year-old quarterback. Joe won a national title at LSU in 2019, was drafted No. 1 overall in 2020 and will have won the Super Bowl a year after suffering a torn ACL.

Can the wide receiver Triple Crown winner add a Lombardi Trophy?

Only four players, including Jerry Rice in 1990, have led the league in catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in the same season. The Rams' Cooper Kupp has a chance to be the first to do so and finish with a Super Bowl win. With 25 catches for 386 yards in the playoffs, Kupp has a single-season record 170 catches, including the postseason. He's also the first player to surpass 2,000 receiving yards, including playoffs (2,333). And his 23 catches of at least 25 yards also is a record.

Will 'Money Mac' give us one final walkoff?

The Bengals were accused of overpaying by using a fifth-round pick on a kicker. Yet here we are, 10 months later and all rookie Evan McPherson has done is make five game-winning field goals, including postseason walkoffs at Tennessee and Kansas City in overtime. He also has a season-record 12 successful attempts from 50 or more yards, including playoffs. The Rams' Matt Gay also hit a walkoff winner to unseat the defending champion Buccaneers. A record 39 games, including five in the playoffs, were decided by a winning score on the final play this season. Why not make it an even 40, eh?

THREE X FACTORS

Defending a motivated Odell Beckham Jr.

Draft picks aren't the only thing Rams owner Stan Kroenke has ponied up for in pursuing this Super Bowl dream. He signed off on an incentive-laden contract for Odell Beckham Jr. after the star receiver forced his way out of Cleveland. Beckham has earned an extra $2 million for L.A.'s first three playoff victories. A victory Sunday and he gets another $1 million. If the Bengals turn their full attention to Kupp, look out for Beckham. He posted season highs in targets (11), catches (nine) and receiving yards (113) in the NFC Championship Game.

Anarumo's halftime adjustments

Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has used halftime adjustments to put some impressive coaching pelts on the wall this season. Twice, the Bengals trailed the high-powered Chiefs by 11 points at halftime. They gave up 28 points in the first half in Week 17 and 21 in the first half of the AFC title game. But in the second half of those games, the Chiefs mustered a total of six points while losing both times. Anarumo confused and/or frustrated Patrick Mahomes by dropping eight defenders into coverage on 45% of the second-half pass plays after doing that only 24% of the time in the first half. What adjustments will Anarumo have in store for McVay's offense?

The G.O.A.T. vs. messenger guards

The Rams have Aaron Donald, a seven-time first-team All-Pro, three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and possibly the greatest three-technique tackle ever. The Bengals counter with a noticeable weakness at right guard. In the AFC title game, offensive line coach Frank Pollack rotated two players on every snap, à la the old "messenger guard" system that Bengals founder and former coach Paul Brown created before the Hall of Famer invented the radio helmet to relay calls to the QB. Second-year player Hakeem Adeniji started and played 34 snaps at Kansas City. Rookie Jackson Carman played 35 snaps. Their greatest test comes against the G.O.A.T. on the biggest stage.

Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd

Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins garner most of the attention when it comes to the vaunted Bengals receiving corps. But Boyd, in his sixth season, is as reliable as they come. In 19 games this season, he has a league-high 77 catches without a drop. Next on that sure-handed list is former Vikings receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, who had 52 catches without a drop in 16 games this season for the Falcons.

Rams safety Eric Weddle

A little over a month ago, Weddle had been retired from the NFL for two years. Sunday, he will start and wear the green dot on his helmet as the defender who will relay calls from Los Angeles coordinator Raheem Morris. The Rams turned to Weddle when injuries mounted heading into the playoffs. The 37-year-old played 19 snaps in the wild-card game against the Cardinals; played 61 snaps in the divisional round victory over the Buccaneers; and never left the field in the NFC Championship Game vs. the 49ers. His game-high nine tackles against San Francisco included a key tackle for loss late in the game.

The unofficial Super Bowl sack record is four by Pittsburgh's L.C. Greenwood in Super Bowl X. Donald, the best player on the field Sunday, will break that record with 4 ½ as he adds a Super Bowl MVP to his trophy case. The Bengals won't go quietly, but they just won't be able to protect Burrow well enough to keep Kroenke, General Manager Les Snead and McVay from doing exactly what they said they would do when they went "all-in" by adding the likes of Beckham, Von Miller, Ramsey and, of course, a 33-year-old former Lions QB who had never won a playoff game. Rams 30, Bengals 24