5 reasons Bengals will win Super Bowl 56

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JANUARY 30: Wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase #1 of the Cincinnati Bengals celebrates with running back Joe Mixon #28 and wide receiver Tee Higgins #85 after catching a third quarter touchdown pass against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 30, 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

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CINCINNATI, OHIO – JANUARY 15: Defensive end Trey Hendrickson #91 of the Cincinnati Bengals forces a fumble on quarterback Derek Carr #4 of the Las Vegas Raiders in the first half of the AFC Wild Card playoff game at Paul Brown Stadium on January 15, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

3. Bengals’ pass rush harasses Rams’ QB Matthew Stafford

While quarterback Joe Burrow, Cincinnati’s three-headed wide receiving monster of Ja’Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins and running back Joe Mixon have gotten plenty of attention when it comes to the team’s playoff success, the Bengals have been playing some pretty solid defense (save for one half at Arrowhead Stadium) in defeating the Raiders, Titans and Chiefs.

And the key has been a much-improved pass rush that has made life easier for the Cincinnati secondary. The 2021 free-agent addition of defensive end Trey Hendrickson has done a world of good when it comes to this side of the ball. The former Saints’ edge-rusher totaled 14 sacks in 2021. Now consider that a season ago, the Bengals finished dead last in the NFL with 17 quarterback traps in 16 games.

That number jumped to 42 sacks in 17 regular-season outings this year. Hendrickson and emerging Sam Hubbard (7.5) have combined for just over half of that total. There have been eight more sacks in the postseason, led by the duo of Hubbard (3.0) and Hendrickson (2.5).

Rams’ quarterback Matthew Stafford was sacked just 35 times in 20 games (including playoffs) this season. But that doesn’t mean the Bengals aren’t capable of applying some heat.

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