The Washington Post - USA (2022-02-13)

D16 EZ SU THE WASHINGTON POST.SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 13 , 2022

Super bowl lvi

BY NEIL GREENBERG AND ARTUR GALOCHA

Rams vs. Bengals:

Tale of the tape

Before the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals meet in Super Bowl LVI,

here is a look at their key personnel and how they measure up.

Quarterbacks

Joe Burrow

112.0

Passer rating in a clean pocket

89.6

Passer rating under pressure

120.2

Passer rating when blitzed

Matthew Stafford, a 13-year

veteran, and Joe Burrow, the No. 1

overall pick in 2020, are both

appearing in the Super Bowl for the

first time. They were also

considered two of the most

valuable passers this season, per

ESPN’s total quarterback rating.

Matthew Stafford

112.1

Passer rating in a clean pocket

80.1

Passer rating under pressure

131.5

Passer rating when blitzed

27%

26%

7th

11th

35.0

32.3

5th

17th

11th

6th

Rank

58%

56%

17th

20th

5.6

5.9

Plays

per drive

70.0%

69.7%

20th

21st

33%

30%

20th

17th

Red-zone efficiency

TD percentage

Goal-to-go efficiency

Percentage of three-and-out drives

Average yards gained per drive

26th

17th

2.3

2.5

Points scored

per drive

68%

54%

20th

21st

Goal-to-go efficiency

8th

7th

Rank

Plays allowed

per drive

11th

20th

Points allowed

per drive

32%

30%

12th

22nd

Percentage of three-and-out drives

30.4

31.4

9th

15th

Average yards allowed per drive

54%

56%

12nd

16th

Red-zone efficiency

19%

21%

5th

12th

TD percentage

5.8

6.0

1.9

1.8

Offense Defense

Key players: Rams Key players: Bengals

Coaches

Sean McVay and Zac Taylor are no

strangers to one another. Taylor was the

Rams assistant wide receivers coach in

2017 and the team’s quarterbacks coach

in 2018 under McVay before heading to

the Bengals in 2019. The two faced each

other in Week 8 of the 2019 season,

a 24-10 victory for the Rams.

Tendencies to call a play

based on the score

Tendencies to call a play

based on the down

51%

38%

24%

Percentage of rushing plays when ... Percentage of rushing plays when ...

First

Second

Third

Fourth-down aggressiveness

Conversion

rate

Fourth-down decisionsWent for it

123 20

Trailing

30%

39%

Tied

49%

Leading

50%

Tendencies to call a play

based on the score

Tendencies to call a play

based on the down

Percentage of rushing plays when ... Percentage of rushing plays when ...

First

Second

Third

Fourth-down aggressiveness

Conversion

rate

Fourth-down decisionsWent for it

135 21

Trailing

Tied

Leading

53%

38%

37% 20%

40%

48%

67%

ALL STATS ARE FROM THE 2021 REGULAR SEASON. SOURCES: PRO-FOOTBALL-REFERENCE.COM, TRUMEDIA AND PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS

WASHINGTON POST STAFF ILLUSTRATIONS; PHOTOS BY ASSOCIATED PRESS AND GETTY IMAGES

Cooper Kupp

WIDE RECEIVER

Kupp is the fourth

wideout to win the

triple crown after he

led all players with

145 catches for

1,947 yards and

16 touchdowns.

4.5 yards per route

run vs. man

coverage

99.2 passer rating

on his targets

Andrew Whitworth

L EFT TACKLE

This second-round

pick out of LSU in

2006 played

11 seasons for the

Bengals before he

signed with Los

Angeles as a free

agent in 2017.

20 quarterback

pressures allowed

over 656 pass-

blocking snaps

3 sacks allowed in

true pass sets, plays

with more than four

rushers and ones

that use play-action

or screens

Aaron Donald

D EFENSIVE TACKLE

The four-time

defensive player of

the year has four or

more quarterback

pressures (sacks,

hits and hurries) in

each of his three

playoff games this

season.

102 total sacks, hits

and hurries

12.5 sacks

Jalen Ramsey

C ORNERBACK

Targeted 108 times,

broke up 14 passes

and intercepted four

of them. Also allowed

just four touchdowns.

78.2 passer rating

allowed in coverage

14 passes broken up

Joe Mixon

R UNNING BACK

At 6-foot-1,

220 pounds, Mixon

is tough to stop. He

had the fourth-most

yards after contact

during the regular

season (903) and

has forced

50 missed tackles

during his 2021

campaign, which

includes the playoffs.

3.0 yards per carry

after contact

33 runs of 10 yards

or more

Ja’Marr Chase

WIDE RECEIVER

The star out of LSU

rewrote the history

books after hauling

in 81 catches for

1,455 yards and

13 touchdowns. He

also set the NFL

single-game rookie

receiving record with

266 yards against

the Kansas City

Chiefs in Week 17.

3.6 yards per route

run against man

coverage

8 touchdowns on

passes thrown 20 or

more yards

Trey Hendrickson

DEFENSIVE END

Hendrickson beat his

block within

2.5 seconds almost

22 percent of the

time this season, the

fourth-highest win

rate among edge

rushers.

86 total pressures

14 quarterback hits

from the right side of

the defensive line

(2nd most in NFL)

Mike Hilton

CORNERBACK

The former Pittsburgh

Steelers defensive

back is a solid run

defender and blitzer,

traits that helped him

become one of the

better slot

cornerbacks in the

NFL. He was credited

with 66 tackles (eight

for a loss) plus two

interceptions.

1.1 yards allowed to

slot receivers per

snap in coverage

13 stops against the

run at or behind the

line of scrimmage