The Cincinnati Bengals were a great team this year, one that cashed in a good regular season and a legendary postseason. One of their few outstanding weaknesses was their offensive line, and a failure to take advantage of that weakness was one way to absolutely doom yourself. Just ask the Chiefs, who melted down on offense and largely couldn’t get after Joe Burrow to prevent the Bengals from galloping past them in the Divisional Round, or the Titans, who nearly pulled off a win against Cincy thanks to an absolutely brutal nine sacks.
The Rams’ Super Bowl win hinged on a lot of things—Matthew Stafford overcoming a couple of interceptions and making big throws when he needed to, Aaron Donald being Aaron Donald when he needed to most, Cooper Kupp’s excellence, the officiating crew maybe suddenly discovering their flags at the right moment—but the pass rush certainly played a major role.