Breaking Down the Rams' Pass Rush and the Bengals' Missed Opportunities in Super Bowl LVI
We all knew heading into Super Bowl LVI that the biggest mismatch on either side of the ball was the Rams’ defensive line vs. the Bengals’ offensive line. For most of the first half, however, it really wasn’t much of an issue. Cincinnati was somewhat effective when they did run it, Burrow was getting rid of the ball quickly, and the Rams’ D-line was barely heard from. The tides started to turn at the end of the first half.
L.A. started forcing the issue, more frequently utilizing fronts focused on getting their best pass rushers in 1-on-1 situations. They used 5-man fronts, 5-man rushes, tilted fronts, and other variations to ensure that their best pass rushers could not be blocked by more than 1 man. The results were a mostly dormant Bengals offense in the second half and a Super Bowl record 7 sacks.
On this first sack, you can see how the Rams were able to overpower and outmaneuver the Bengals with a 4-man rush on 3rd-and-6. Notice the front with 3 defensive linemen to one side of the center:
The Rams would end up using a 3-man stunt to the left that ended up getting home:
Focus on Aaron Donald, whose pass rush as one of the two penetrators on the stunt basically took out the center and left guard:
The below sack came on a 3rd-and-3 in the third quarter with the Bengals leading 17-13 and threatening to take a two-possession lead. Here, the Rams dropped linebacker Ernest Jones down over the center and would bring a 5-man rush. With Cincinnati keeping just 5 in to protect, that set up 1-on-1’s across the board:
That got Aaron Donald isolated on right guard Hakeem Adeniji, which was the scenario we wrote would create the most vulnerabilities for the Bengals coming into this game:
The Bengals would have to settle for the field goal.
Below was another 5-man front that would ultimately lead to another sack. This time the Rams would rush just 4. However, with the Bengals relying on another 5-man protection and the center occupied by nose tackle Greg Gaines (#91), Von Miller and Aaron Donald were left in 1-on-1’s against Adeniji and right tackle Isaiah Prince:
Miller was able to win inside, driving Burrow into the arms of A’Shawn Robinson (#94):
On the very next play, Miller and the defensive tackle to his side (Gaines this time) would again get 1-on-1’s. Here it was not because of a 5-man front. Instead, it was because the Bengals’ slid to Aaron Donald on the other side of the center:
That set Miller and Gaines up to work a T-E stunt against Adeniji and Prince with no help inside:
On L.A.’s final sack, they again occupied the center with Gaines. This time, however, they aligned two pass rushers outside of the tackle on both sides of the formation:
That left Von Miller attacking the right guard (Adeniji) and Aaron Donald attacking the left guard (Quinton Spain), both with running starts:
That’s not exactly something guards are trained, skilled, or comfortable enough to handle. It showed on this play as both Miller and Donald were able to penetrate inside. Leonard Floyd (#54) also helped collapse the pocket from the edge off the right side:
And then you had the pressure by Aaron Donald on the final 4th down of the night to seal the victory for the Rams. Even with the center sliding to his side to help out, Donald was able to get to Burrow. He used an outside rush against left guard Quinton Spain and won this snap with his quickness and his hands:
Aaron Donald was a wrecking ball in the second half. On the play before that game-winning pressure, Donald shed his blocker and tackled Samaje Perine short of the line on 3rd-and-1. Even on plays where he didn’t end up on the stat sheet, the attention he commanded opened up opportunities across the D-line. The same could be said of Von Miller, by the way.
The Bengals knew they couldn’t allow the Rams’ big three (Donald, Miller, Floyd) to make an impact and still expect to win. Those three combined for 5 sacks in the final 31 minutes. Zac Taylor’s decision to keep utilizing so many 5-man protections is one that deserves scrutiny.
Missed Opportunities for the Bengals
This side of the ball wasn’t only decided by the Rams’ pass rush. The Bengals offense also missed some opportunities. It started on the first drive when Cincinnati went for it on 4th down. Burrow missed a wide open Tee Higgins (#85) in the flat:
Even if linebacker Ernest Jones (#50) hadn’t gotten underneath Ja’Marr Chase, Jalen Ramsey was all over that route. It seemed Burrow pre-determined that he was going to get the ball to Chase regardless of the look. He did the same thing on a deeper curl-flat combination to Tee Higgins in the 2nd quarter. However, it worked that time. Burrow lives and dies with the faith he puts in his receivers to win. Most of the time it works out. Here, it didn’t.
On the Bengals’ next drive, they might have had a big play opportunity on a post-wheel combination on 3rd down. Running back Chris Evans (#25) was running the wheel route out of the backfield. However, he got caught inside of linebacker Ernest Jones, which slowed him down, reduced the separation between he and Jones, and made it a more difficult throw for Burrow:
The Bengals would be forced to punt.
Later in the first quarter, after a 46-yard completion to Ja'Marr Chase set the Bengals up at the Rams’ 11-yard line, Cincinnati wasn’t able to finish the drive off with a touchdown. Burrow fired 3 straight completions, none of which targeted Chase. And it wasn’t because he didn’t have the opportunity. In fact, below you can see the look the Rams gave on 2nd down:
Chase was aligned in a 1-on-1 situation against cornerback Darious Williams (#11), and Jalen Ramsey was lined up to the other side of the formation. That’s an opportunity you have to take advantage of. Change the play at the line, keep 6 or 7 in to protect, have Chase run a route into the end zone, and give him a chance to win as he has all year. Burrow stayed to the other side of the field, though, and had to get rid of the ball quickly in the face of the blitz:
That was another 5-man protection, by the way, which led to a quick throw against the Rams’ 6-man pressure.
Here was a 3rd down in the second half where Burrow just flat out missed the throw:
Even just one or two more third-down conversions could have changed the outcome in this one.
One element to add here is that Rams Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris did a great job of using late movement in coverage to keep Burrow off balance. As Burrow was in the midst of repeatedly getting trampled by the Rams’ pass rush, he also had to fight coverage looks that were tough to trust at face value. On this sack, you can see that Burrow probably had the follow route (the second in-breaker) to his left. Yet he appeared to come off of it due to safety Eric Weddle dropping down into the middle as a robber:
It looked like the window was there if Burrow got rid of the ball at the top of his drop.
On the final 4th down of the game, you can see another example. The slot corner, David Long (#22), was playing man coverage at the snap. However, he fell off his receiver’s flat route when he saw the route combination. He was able to get underneath the in-breaker, forcing Burrow to hold onto the ball:
He effectively took away two routes, and that gave Aaron Donald enough time to get to Burrow.
There were plenty of other missed opportunities and questionable decisions on the part of the Bengals. It’s fair to question going for it on 4th down on their first drive. It’s fair to question not giving Joe Mixon a shot to run the ball on 3rd or 4th-and-1 on the final drive. It’s fair to question why Chase wasn’t involved in the main route combo on the final play instead of just running a go-route to the backside against Jalen Ramsey on a 4th-and-1.
Perhaps the Bengals should have run the ball more in general, especially since they were having some success. A steady run game could have alleviated some of the immense pressure the Rams’ pass rush was creating.
The biggest question, though, is why Cincinnati continued to lean on 5-man protections when everyone knew coming into this game that protection would be THE issue. Ultimately, the Bengals paid the price.
The Rams defense is filled with talent, top to bottom. The task of beating them wasn’t going to be easy in the first place. But the Bengals looked reactive all night and nothing like the explosive offense we saw all season. I doubt they came away from this game feeling that they just got overwhelmed by a better team. They missed opportunities, and that will haunt this offense all offseason.