Ohio Vs. Hollywood: The State Of Mind For Bengals And Burrow In Super Bowl LVI

LOS ANGELES – Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, bidding to transform the second one quarterback in history to win a Super Bowl for a state where he used to be as soon as each born or went to school, famously dissed the underdog issue inside the staff meeting the evening time forward of they beat the Titans inside the Divisional game.

But it sounds as if he’s going to have found out a brand spanking new theme for the reason that fourth-seeded Bengals look to turn the general six Burrow starts into an NFL establish Sunday against the Rams at SoFi Stadium.

“Ohio,” may not suggest underdog. In this game, it merely would possibly suggest style and perspective. Whatever it may be, the home state of Burrow and his Bengals undoubtedly provides a neat foil for the Hollywood-based Rams stacked with stars participating in a Super Bowl in their own development built additional like an MGM sound degree than a stadium.

There don’t seem to be simply Hall-of-Fame move rushers Aaron Donald and Von Miller, alternatively Jalen Ramsey, the person the Bengals believe is the most productive cornerback inside the game, and Cooper Kupp, the person the numbers say is the most productive huge receiver inside the game.

Could be Ohio vs. Hollywood. Throw in Bengals free coverage Jessie Bates III from Fort Wayne and it’s Ohio-Indiana vs. Hollywood. Throw inside the Collinsworth guys from Northern Kentucky being part of the NBC broadcast and perhaps this is Ohio-Indiana-Kentucky vs. Hollywood.

“I like the title,” said Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton after Friday’s brisk 40-minute final tuneup. “Knowing that they’re the flashy guys and we’re the blue-collar guys, we’re getting the best of both worlds with the Super Bowl on the line. They’re real flashy for the camera. We’re blue-collar, get it out of the mud. They’re a great team. We’re just different.”

Hilton is the personification of the muddy Bengals, a staff that has won their ultimate two video games at the gun and the third at their two-yard line. The staff that out of place their first 13 immediately one-score video games beneath head instructor Zac Taylor won 3 immediately of those to get proper right here.

Hilton used to be given proper right here the hard means, too. Undrafted and spurned by the use of the Steelers regardless of 4 forged seasons, he presented his steel-trap tackling and single-minded passion to coverage in search of its means and it grew to turn out to be a great have compatibility. In the postseason he’s been all over within the yard with 4 move deflections, in conjunction with the acrobatic steal of Ryan Tannehill inside the crimson zone that saved the Tennessee game.

“They all had it,” Hilton said of his staff’s penchant or dirty artwork. “They just needed somebody to pull it out of everybody.”

Hilton is going to should have a vintage Hilton game inside the muck of the slot Sunday. The Rams like to transport and run bunch formations and Hilton is going to have to go back downhill in the middle of the field. He is acutely aware of this is how Burrow runs the offense.

A defensive player at quarterback.

“The way he carries himself and the way he’s not afraid of contact,” Hilton said. “He’s a tough dude. I’m happy he’s my quarterback.”

Hilton’s quarterback handled his final pregame media duties Friday befitting the tone of the game. The throng of cameras and journalists wanted him to transport GQ Joe with questions about his dress, hair, and even the one sock he all the time puts inside out.

But like he has all week, he has stuck to Midwest Joe. Athens Joe. Ohio Joe.

They even asked him if he’d like to be residing out proper right here and he gave them the Buckeye Chamber of Commerce answer.

“No,” he said. “I like four seasons.”

If the sock fits.

Burrow has proudly this week carried the Ohio banner for the reason that Bengals try to put across space the main Super Bowl to the state and the main NFL establish in with regards to 60 years. They had been the easy answers.

“Being from Ohio, I can relate to the entire fan base. I think that’s something rare,” Burrow said. “There’s not a lot of NFL players that get to play for a team in their home state. I think they can relate to me and I can relate to them.”

That’s on account of their quarterback having been grinding like them. Just as Bengals fans persevered 31 years for that playoff win, Burrow however grimly carries Athens’ last-minute loss inside the 2014 Division III state identifies game as his early life pals with regards to being presented once more without an equivalent prize for an impoverished space.

Just as Bengals fans’ limped with the knee of Ickey Woods and Ki-Jana Carter and Carson Palmer, Burrow gutted out the identical terrifying ACL harm with a Comeback Player of the Year that put his staff inside the Super Bowl.