2022 Super Bowl odds, pick: Rams’ defensive line will lead L.A. to first Super Bowl title since 1999 season

The Los Angeles Rams built a football team that was expected to be playing in Super Bowl LVI, part of the “all-in” mentality general manager Les Snead embraced over the last few years. Matthew Stafford was the culmination of that process, as Snead and head coach Sean McVay clearly thought Jared Goff wasn’t good enough to get the Rams the Vince Lombardi Trophy. 

Los Angeles traded first-round draft picks in 2022 and 2023, a third-round pick in 2021, and quarterback Jared Goff in exchange for Stafford. The results showed in the postseason, as Stafford completed 72% of his passes for 905 yards with six touchdowns to just one interception for a 115.6 passer rating in getting the Rams to their second Super Bowl trip in four years. 

The Cincinnati Bengals are the surprise Super Bowl attendee, emerging from a 4-11-1 record and last place finish in the AFC North to division champions and the AFC participant in Super Bowl LVI. Cincinnati is attempting to match the 1999 St. Louis Rams for the longest preseason odds at the beginning of the year (150-1) to win the Super Bowl. The Bengals have the franchise quarterback in Joe Burrow and a high-powered offense with Joe Mixon, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd that can go up and down the field against anyone in the league. 

I’ve been tasked to make one pick a year for CBS Sports — and that’s who wins the Super Bowl. Now that the matchup is set, here’s why I’m picking the Rams to win Super Bowl LVI. 

Rams defensive line a major mismatch

When I picked the Kansas City Chiefs to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win the Super Bowl last year, I went against my one principle when picking football games — the game is won on the offensive and defensive lines. The Buccaneers defensive line was one of the best at getting after the quarterback and the Chiefs offensive line was banged up. I ignored that because Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes were…