If I said at the beginning of the NFL season that the Cincinnati Bengals were going to be in the super bowl, a lot of you would say that I was crazy. I don't blame you . none saw the Bengals going to the Super Bowl this year, but they defined all the odds and now heading to the Super Bowl. So let's recap how the Bengals got to the big game. The Bengals hired a new Head Coach, Zac Taylor, in 2019, and they were one of the worst teams in the NFL in the 2019-2020 season, finishing the season 2-14 and securing the No.1 pick for that year's draft. While that was happening, Joe Burrow was having one of the best college football seasons as a quarterback at LSU, throwing for 60 touchdowns and throwing for over 5,000 yards and winning a national championship. In the 2020 draft, the Bengals had the first pick and they chose Joe Burrow the first overall. but his rookie year was cut short, because he tore his ACL in week 11 against the formerly known as Washington Football Team, now known as the Washington Commanders. They finished that season 4-11-1. The one big story in the offseason for the Bengals was to improve the offensive line to protect him at all cost in the NFL draft and the Bengals had the 5th pick. The media wanted them to get the best offensive linemen in the draft. but they went a different direction and drafted receiver Ja'Marr Chase out of LSU, who played with Joe Burrow at LSU and had chemistry in college. Ja’Marr had a record-breaking first season in the NFL. The 21-year-old finished with 81 receptions for 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns. He had the most receiving yards by a rookie in the Super Bowl era and will likely win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
There were also some key signings on the defensive side this last off-season, like Trey Hendrickson, Eli Apple, and Chidobe Awuzie to get them where they are now. So let's give a little more context. How impressive this 2021-2022 season was for the Bengals . The past two seasons before this one were 6-25-1. They were tied with the New York Jets and the Jacksonville Jaguars for having one of the worst odds to win the Super Bowl ahead of Detroit Lions and Houston Texans.