Major outlet predicts Bengals getting long awaited revenge
Super Bowl LVI was a dropped interception away from being a rematch of two prior championship games. If Jaquiski Tartt hauled in an errant Matthew Stafford throw in the fourth quarter of the 2021 NFC Championship game, the San Francisco 49ers would've likely beat the Los Angeles Rams to earn a matchup against the Cincinnati […]
Super Bowl LVI was a dropped interception away from being a rematch of two prior championship games. If Jaquiski Tartt hauled in an errant Matthew Stafford throw in the fourth quarter of the 2021 NFC Championship game, the San Francisco 49ers would've likely beat the Los Angeles Rams to earn a matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals in the big game.
It would've been the third time the two teams faced each other in the Super Bowl, as the 49ers won two of their Lombardi Trophies against the Bengals in the 1980s.
Two generations have been born since that last Super Bowl, and both teams have established themselves as bonafide contenders. A combined five conference title game appearances and two Super Bowl trips have been taken between them in the past four years. It's certainly not out of the question that they could meet in a third Super Bowl pretty soon.
That's precisely what Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr believes will happen at the conclusion of this season. A Bengals vs. 49ers Super Bowl would feature what he believes to be the teams with talent and depth across the board, and Orr has the Bengals coming out on top.
"The Bengals and the 49ers have, by my estimation, the two rosters that best embody the hallmark of a Super Bowl team: talent and depth at almost every position. The 49ers have enough options at the quarterback position to make sure they aren’t stuck in the title game with Christian McCaffrey in the Wildcat. Deebo Samuel believed this team was better than the Eagles last year, and, even after Philadelphia’s superb draft, I agree that the 49ers have just as strong of a roster." – SI's Conor Orr
It's hard to disagree with that analysis. Cincinnati's roster may be the deepest it's ever been, certainly in the Joe Burrow and Zac Taylor era, while the 49ers are rivals to no one when it comes to overall talent level.
Injuries play a monumental factor as to who is poised to make a championship run, and despite major injuries consistently plaguing their team, the 49ers have made a habit out of outlasting most teams in the NFC. The Bengals also survived a plethora of ailments to make it back to the AFC title game for the second straight season. But neither team could overcome their injuries during championship weekend.
A Super Bowl meeting would be nostalgic for both franchises, obviously for differing reasons. So for the Bengals to get the win this time around, over 30 years since the last matchup, would be incredibly cathartic for all those who remember it or were even alive to experience the sorrow.
We may not get this dream matchup in Las Vegas come mid-February, but we will get to see it go down in Week 8 of this season. The Bengals will travel to Santa Clara for the first time since 2015 to face the 49ers on the road, a week before the Buffalo Bills come to Cincinnati for Sunday Night Football.
Foreshadowing or not, it will be a titanic matchup between two of the league's best squads.
Featured Image via Sam Greene / The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
