What a week of playoff football!!! All 6 games over the last two weekends of divisional and conference championship football have come down to the final possession, and it was truly a dream come true after such a lackluster wildcard weekend. One of the more notable moments during the historic weekend was the Cinderella story of the Cincinnati Bengals. Riding the stellar play of former LSU tandem Ja’marr Chase and Joe Burrow, the Bengals are defying all odds and heading to the Super Bowl after being the bottom dweller of the NFL just two years back. 

Coming into the season, the Bengals had no real expectations. After a poor 2020 season where rookie Joe Burrow sustained a gruesome knee injury, there were a lot of questions about the Bengals and their potential to win. During the draft, they faced a huge dilemma: should they look to improve their lackluster offensive line to protect their franchise QB from the beating he took in his rookie campaign, or should they reunite him with the receiver that he won a national championship in college with? The Bengals ended up going with the latter, taking a risk by selecting Burrow’s right hand man from his days at LSU, Ja’marr Chase. The risk, however, would end paying off massively as Burrow and Chase would start right where they left off in Baton Rouge. Not only would the Bengals obtain an unlikely playoff berth, but Chase would end up having an historic rookie season, tallying a mind boggling 1455 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns, breaking the all-time rookie receiving record. 

The playoffs are not unfamiliar territory for the Cincinnati Bengals, but advancing beyond the wildcard round certainly is. Before this season, Cincinnati had not won a playoff game this century. The last time? 1990. That drought, however, was put behind them after a hard fought win over the Las Vegas Raiders on wildcard weekend, in which the LSU duo showed out once again. The long awaited wildcard win was already something to glamor about, but the Bengals were not finished.  

After their thrilling win, they went on to pull off a massive upset against the number one seeded Tennessee Titans, and the week after, they dethroned the reigning AFC champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. Overcoming all odds, the Bengals are now in an unexpected position, with a chance to win their first Super Bowl ever. In their way are the Los Angeles Rams, led by veteran Quarterback Matthew Stafford, who has put up career numbers this season with a wide receiver room consisting of phenoms Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham Jr. Even if Cincinnati does not pull it off, the diehard fans in Cincy are just happy to see them get this far. Bengals fan Jack Stenger said, “After so many miserable seasons, I am elated just to see the Bengals get this far.” 

The Super Bowl Bengals hope to continue to shock the world going into Sunday’s matchup. Even if they are not able to pull off the feat, at least the long playoff drought is over. With the breakout of the young LSU duo, there is no telling how good the Bengals can be for years to come.