Super Bowl 2022 LIVE: Los Angeles Rams vs Cincinnati Bengals result as Cooper Kupp wins MVP

Country singer Mickey Guyton has the honour of delivering the American national anthem. She is joined by a choir behind her, most players looking to the heavens or closing their eyes and bowing their heads as Guyton delivers “The Star-Spangled Banner”. She points to the crowd as she launches her final vibrato. That’s a fine rendition.

Accompanied by a harp, LA native Jhené Aiko sings “America the Beautiful”. A very elegant performance, understated, but sweetly and soulfully sung.

It’s always an odd collection of individuals making up the crowd at the Super Bowl, with exorbitant ticket prices preventing so many fans from attening. But the reports from inside SoFi stadium are that the Bengals jerseys are more numerous, and the Cincinnati faithful are certainly making more of the early noise.

There’s plenty of pomp and pageantry to get through before kick-off, and it’s a gorgeous afternoon in Los Angeles that the Rams players run out in to.

Next come the Bengals, led by Joe Burrow, alongside defensive leader BJ Hill, who gives a load of energy up front. Burrow looks focussed.

The Bengals don’t have the same defensive stars. While Trey Hendrickson has proved an outstanding free agent addition off the edge, and DJ Reader has added plenty of stodge to clog the middle, there is no established superstar on the defence, and certainly none that are home-grown.

The closest thing the Bengals have to that is Jessie Bates, the rangy safety who is at his best covering deep. In truth, Bates was probably better in 2020 than 2021, but he is turned up his level in the play-offs, playing a key role in several vital turnovers for the Bengals and embodying the togetherness and intelligence of a defence playing better than the sum of its parts.

The Bengals adjusted brilliantly at half-time of the AFC Championship game, dropping eight players and rushing only three and forcing Patrick Mahomes to try and pick passes through the bodies. They should employ a similar tactic against Matthew Stafford, who shreds the blitz but is one of the five worst quarterbacks in the league when the opposition drop eight defenders into coverage. Might Bates snare an interception or two to swing the game the Bengals way?

Jalen Ramsey is not Los Angeles’ only defensive star. Aaron Donald might be the best defensive player in history. A three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Donald is on another level as a defensive tackle, a ball of muscle with devilish, destructive hands who can be virtually unblockable for even the best offensive lines.

Which is bad news for the Cincinnati Bengals’ unit, which would be charitably described as not great. Far inferior players than Donald have caused havoc in front of Joe Burrow all season, and while the quarterback has almost superhuman powers of pocket evasion, and the Bengals will try to get the ball out quick, escaping Donald is no mean feat, and the Rams’ interior pass-rusher might just wreck this game.

There is also a rumour that Donald might just bow out of the sport if he adds a Lombardi Trophy to his extraordinary CV...

From one dominant wide receiver to another, and few rookies have ever contributed to a Super Bowl team like Jamarr Chase has to these Cincinnati Bengals. The team boldly ignored their offensive line woes and opted to reunite Chase with LSU teammate Joe Burrow after taking Chase at the top of last year’s NFL Draft, a decision that has paid immediate dividends. Their partnership is a thing of great beauty, an unspoken connection forged on trust for one another. Together they have powered this Bengals offence to the Super Bowl, and get the chance to paint pretty pictures in combination again with a championship on the line.

So how will the Los Angeles Rams try to counter Chase? Well they have arguably the NFL’s best cornerback in Jalen Ramsey, who may travel with Chase in a bid to limit his impact, even if it reduces Ramsey’s own opportunities to make game-changing plays. Ramsey tends to be used in a more versatile manner by defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, lining up in different spots and particularly in the STAR position shifted further infield.