Gary “The Gut” Goombah : Super Bowl LVI (56)
The 2021 football season finally concludes on Sunday with the annual big game. Who will win the Championship of Pro Football? Way back in August we wrote our NFL Season Preview and predicted the Los Angeles Rams would be this year’s Super Bowl Champions. We see no need to change our selection now, especially because in our pre-Playoffs selection, we incorrectly chose the Buffalo Bills, who fell short in that epic game in Kansas City a few weeks ago. So now we’re back to our preseason pick for Super Bowl Champion, the Los Angeles Rams.
Gary “The Gut” Goombah has had quite a season, capping it with a perfect 2-0 S/U on Championship Sunday. Unfortunately, the Rams only won by 3 points (spread was 3.5) so “The Gut” was 1-1 ATS. Nonetheless, his gambling has been superb as of late, and all season really.
Meanwhile, “Bro-in-law” Jay has had an awesome year too. Despite starting later in the year, Jay has put up a remarkable success rate. Can they both finish it off with yet another victory? To Recap:
AFC Championship
Cincinnati Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs (-7) (54.5 points) : Final score: Cincinnati 27, Kansas City 24
- Gary “The Gut” Goombah picks: Cincinnati 34, Kansas City 33 (Cincy wins S/U, Cincy wins ATS, Over) : WON S/U, WON ATS, Lost Over.
- “Bro-in-law” Jay picks: Kansas City 33, Cincinnati 24 (K.C. wins S/U, K.C. wins ATS, Over) : Lost S/U, Lost ATS, Lost Over.
NFC Championship
San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams (-3.5) (45.5 points) : Final score: Los Angeles 20, San Francisco 17
- Gary “The Gut” Goombah picks: Los Angeles 28, San Francisco 14 (L.A. wins S/U, L.A. wins ATS, Under) : WON S/U, Lost ATS, WON Under.
- “Bro-in-law” Jay picks: Los Angeles 20, San Francisco 13 (L.A. wins S/U, L.A. wins ATS, Under) : WON S/U, Lost ATS, WON Under.
Overall Standings Thru 18 Weeks:
GARY “THE GUT”
- NCAA: 57-52-5 ATS for the season (4-2 on Gary’s “Lock of the Week”)
- NFL: 2-0 S/U for the week, 1-1 ATS for the week, 27-23-2 ATS for the season (3-3 on Gary’s “Lock of the Week”), 1-1 Over/Under for the week, 4-7-1 Over/Under for the season
- Overall: 2-0 S/U for the week, 1-1 ATS for the week, 84-75-7 ATS for the season (7-5 on Gary’s “Lock of the Week”), 4-7-1 Over/Under for the season
“BRO-IN-LAW” JAY
- NCAA: 30-15-2 ATS for the season
- NFL: 1-1 S/U for the week, 0-2 ATS for the week, 16-12 ATS for the season, 1-1 Over/Under for the week
- Overall: 1-1 S/U for the week, 0-2 ATS for the week, 46-27-2 ATS for the season, 6-5-1 Over/Under for the season
Super Bowl LVI Preview : Cincinnati Bengals (13-7) vs Los Angeles Rams (15-5)
Like we did for our Chicago Bears weekly previews, let’s take a look at some numbers before we make our selection.
Troy Aikman’s Efficiency Ratings (AER), as of January 12
- Cincinnati Bengals: 15th offense, 16th defense
- Los Angeles Rams : 11th offense, 7th defense
Football Outsiders, using their patented DVOA system
- Cincinnati : 17th overall, 18th offense, 19th defense, 8th special teams
- Los Angeles : 5th overall, 8th offense, 5th defense, 4th special teams
- Cincinnati : 11th overall
- Los Angeles : 5th overall
Sports Betting Dime
SportsBettingDime.com‘s formula predicts a Rams victory by a 25.1-23.7 score. That’s a closer prediction than the 4 point spread would assume.
Prediction:
After analyzing these numbers, Gary “The Gut” Goombah feels as if the Rams should be a big favorite. However, the official point spread as provided by BetUS.com is only 4 points in favor of Los Angeles. The Bengals have been amazing Against-The-Spread this year, going 13-7. The Rams are only 10-10 ATS. The Bengals have won an amazing seven straight ATS! Can they make it eight straight?
Ultimately, this game will be decided by the Rams defensive front against the Bengals offensive line. Can they protect Joe Burrow? Can they provide enough time for the Bengals talented receiving corps to get open against the Rams linebackers and secondary?
The Bengals gave up 55 sacks in the regular season, which was the third most behind only the Bears and Ravens. Then Burrow got sacked another 12 times in their three postseason games including an incredible 9 sacks at Tennessee in the AFC Divisional Round. (How many teams win the game when they are sacked 9 times???) On the flip-side, the Rams defense had the third most sacks in the regular season with 50, behind only the Steelers and Vikings. That’s not a good combo of stats for Cincinnati. We don’t think they’ll be able to stop Aaron Donald (12.5 sacks in ’21), Von Miller (5 sacks with Rams), Leonard Floyd (9.5 sacks), Greg Gaines (4.5 sacks), and Terrell Lewis (3 sacks) often enough. “The Gut” predicts at least four sacks for the Rams and possibly many more. Five, six, seven, eight sacks? Those numbers would not bode well for the Bengals.
On the other side of the ball, the Rams passing attack featuring Matt Stafford connecting with Cooper Kupp, Odell Beckham Jr., and Van Jefferson will be tough for the Bengals mediocre defense to stop. Cincy’s overwhelmed defense won’t be able to keep up with this new age edition of the “Greatest Show on Turf”.
Overall, the Rams are just a much better team with talent, skill, experience, and a win-it-all mentality. The Bengals are a young, up-and-coming team with a second year quarterback, third year coach, and a bright future. They got really lucky in three straight AFC playoff games. Trust me, I was cheering for them all January. However, the road stops here for Cincinnati. The Rams have been here before, losing a miserable Super Bowl a few years ago to the Patriots by a low score of 13-3 in what was easily one of the worst NFL championship games ever. It’s not gonna happen again. Los Angeles will complete their year by winning the ring, as is their destiny. PICK: Los Angeles
Cincinnati Bengals vs Los Angeles Rams (-4) (48.5 points)
- Gary “The Gut” Goombah picks: Los Angeles Rams 38, Cincinnati Bengals 20 (L.A. wins S/U, L.A. wins ATS, OVER)
- “Bro-in-law” Jay picks: Los Angeles Rams 27, Cincinnati Bengals 20 (L.A. wins S/U, L.A. wins ATS, UNDER)
There you have it. Now that you know who to pick, go to BetUS.com and gamble cash on the Rams. Gary “The Gut” will be placing many bets on the Rams to cover the spread and score the OVER 48.5 combined points. He might also put some money on Cooper Kupp to win MVP. Another prop bet gamble might be the total sacks for the Rams. You too should think about placing money, just like the pros at Dutch Lion Sports! Where should you gamble? Why not the official online sportsbook of Dutch Lion Sports? If you make a deposit on BetUS.com using Dutch Lion’s link, you’ll get a sign-up bonus. Thank you and good luck!
“Whether rich or poor, thou shalt gamble more” – Gary “The Gut” Goombah’s mantra
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