With the teams for Super Bowl LVI now rubber stamped, excitement is starting to grow for the final game of the 2021 season — which is set to take place at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on February 13th. It’s a matchup that nobody would have predicted when the playoff picture was confirmed at the end of the newly extended 17-game season, as the LA Rams will to go head-to-head with the Cincinnati Bengals in their own backyard.
The Rams are a shock Super Bowl contender themselves, having dispatched of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, last year’s champions, in the Divisional Round. However, they are far from as surprising as the Bengals having their ticket punched for a place in American Football’s showpiece. Around 150/1 to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy in the NFL betting odds preseason, and given a zero percent chance of even winning the AFC Championship, nobody could have truly predicted Cincinnati to be one just step away from glory.
So, with Joe Burrow and co. on the cusp of potentially making history and winning the Super Bowl for the first time in the Bengals’ history — albeit needing to overcome the odds again against the Rams — let’s take a look back at some of the other surprise winners of the Lombardi Trophy.
Super Bowl XXXIV (1999 season) – Rams (150/1)
Believe it or not, the Rams have been in the Bengals’ position themselves. In fact, if Cincinnati beat them at the SoFi, Zac Taylor’s men will join the now LA-based franchise as the biggest ever winners of the Super Bowl at 150/1. Playing out of St. Louis at the time, the Rams had a difficult few years prior to the 1999 season. But quarterback Kurt Warner, considered the sport’s best ever undrafted player, stepped up to the plate — throwing 4353 yards for 41 touchdowns as the Rams went 13-3 in the regular season. Up against the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV, which is often regarded as one of the best final games of all time, the Rams won 23-16 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Warner, who is now in the Hall of Fame, was crowned the Super Bowl MVP.
Super Bowl XXXVI (2001 season) – New England Patriots (60/1)
Warner and the Rams’ fantastic offence, known as ‘The Greatest Show on Turf’, returned to the Super Bowl a couple of seasons later. Only this time, they were certainly no underdogs in the 2001 campaign. The went 14-2 in the regular season and were expected to wipe the floor with the New England Patriots (11-5) at the Louisiana Superdome. However, the Patriots’ second-year QB, a certain Tom Brady, had other ideas. New England led 14-3 at half-time and extended their lead to 17-3 with a field goal in the third.
But the Rams fought back in the final quarter, scoring two touchdowns and levelling the scores with just 1:30 left on the clock. With no timeouts remaining, the Patriots decided to go for it anyway and Brady moved the chains to get them within field goal range, with Adam Vinatieri converting from 48 yards. That was the beginning of a dominant era for the Patriots and Brady.
Super Bowl LV (2020 season) – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (66/1)
After going 7-9 in the 2019 season, you could have bagged the Bucs to win Super Bowl LV at 66/1 — which was longer odds than the Jacksonville Jaguars, who later finished 1-15! Of course, when Brady made the switch to the Raymond James Stadium in March, those odds were drastically slashed to around 25/1. Still, they went all the way to the Super Bowl, becoming the first team play the final game on home soil as they went up against the Kansas City Chiefs — the defending champions.
With the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes heavily tipped to win back-to-back Super Bowls in the NFL predictions, Brady threw yet another spanner in the works. The then 43-year-old completed three touchdown passes and the Bucs’ defence made life difficult for Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offence — stopping them even scoring a TD as the Lombardi Trophy stayed in Tampa after a 31-9 victory.