LOS ANGELES – To commemorate Super Bowl LVI, we bring you 56 facts and tidbits about Super Bowls, the Los Angeles Rams, Cincinnati Bengals and, of course, the Giants.
I - This is the first Rams-Bengals Super Bowl matchup. The Rams are 1-3 in Super Bowls, most recently losing to New England, 13-3, three years ago. They defeated Tennessee, 23-16, in Super Bowl XXXIV for their only victory in the game. The Rams also won NFL championships in 1945 and 1951. The Bengals are 0-2 and making their first Super Bowl appearance in 33 years. They lost to San Francisco in Super Bowls XVI and XXIII.
II - Cincinnati is one of 12 franchises that has never won a Super Bowl and one of five to play in more than one Super Bowl without a victory. Eight franchises have played in the game without winning: the Minnesota Vikings (four times), Buffalo Bills (four), Bengals (two), Carolina Panthers (two), Atlanta Falcons (two), Los Angeles Chargers (one), Tennessee Titans (one) and Arizona Cardinals (one). Four teams have never appeared in the Super Bowl: the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars. A Bengals victory would make Cincinnati the 21st franchise with at least one Super Bowl win.
III - This is the second Super Bowl in which both starting quarterbacks were the No. 1 overall selections in their respective drafts, Los Angeles' Matthew Stafford in 2009 from Georgia and Cincinnati's Joe Burrow in 2020 from LSU. It last happened in Super Bowl 50 when the quarterbacks were Denver's Peyton Manning (1998) and Carolina's Cam Newton (2011). That was also the last Super Bowl in which both starting quarterbacks played collegiately in the Southeastern Conference.
IV - Both the Bengals and Rams were seeded fourth in their respective conference playoffs. This is the first time none of the top three seeds in either conference advanced to the Super Bowl. The last No. 4 seed to win a Super Bowl was the 2012 Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII.
V - The Giants are 4-1 in Super Bowls. Their .800 winning percentage ties them with the Green Bay Packers for the highest among the 17 franchises that have played in at least three Super Bowls. The Giants are one of six franchises to win at least four Super Bowls. Their Super Bowl victories are tied for the NFL's fourth-highest total. New England and Pittsburgh have won six Super Bowls, Dallas and San Francisco have won five, and the Giants are tied with Green Bay at four. In their five Super Bowls, the Giants scored 104 points and allowed 104 points.
VI - The Rams' Sean McVay will be 36 years, 20 days old on Sunday, which would have made him the youngest head coach in Super Bowl history, if he hadn't been superseded by … Sean McVay, who was 33 years and 10 days when the Rams lost to the Patriots in Super Bowl LIII, 13-3. Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor will be 38 years, 279 days on Sunday, which will make him the fourth-youngest Super Bowl head coach, behind McVay and Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin (36/323) and Bill Cowher (38/265). This is the first Super Bowl in which both head coaches are under the age of 40.
VII - SoFi Stadium will be the 26th different venue to host a Super Bowl and the third in the greater Los Angeles area, joining the Coliseum and the Rose Bowl. The Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans has hosted a record seven Super Bowls, followed by Pro Player/Dolphin/SunLife/Hard Rock Stadium in Miami (six). This is the first Super Bowl in the Los Angeles area since the 1992 season and the ninth overall, which is the third-highest total among host cities behind Miami (11) and New Orleans (10).
VIII - SoFi will become the first stadium in NFL history to host a conference championship game and Super Bowl in the same season.
IX - The team scoring first in the Super Bowl in 36-19.
X - McVay and Taylor will be a combined 74 years and 299 days old on Sunday. It's the youngest combined age for the two Super Bowl head coaches by almost nine years. In Super Bowl XLIII, Tomlin and Arizona's Ken Whisenhunt were a combined 83 years and 297 days old. Last year, Tampa Bay's Bruce Arians and Kansas City's Andy Reid set the Super Bowl record for oldest combined ages at 131 years and 87 days old.
XI - If the Rams win, McVay will supplant Tomlin as the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl, one year after Arians became the oldest at 68 years, 127 days old.
XII - More coaches: Before taking over in Cincinnati in 2019. Taylor worked on McVay's staff from 2017-18, first as assistant receivers coach then as quarterbacks coach.
XIII - The 2021 season was Stafford's first with the Rams after he played 12 years for the Detroit Lions (for whom he was 0-3 in the playoffs). Stafford will be the seventh quarterback to start in a Super Bowl in his first season with a team. He hopes to become the third quarterback – and second in a row – to win a Super Bowl in the first season after switching teams:
Season | Team | Quarterback | Super Bowl
1967 | Oakland Raiders | Daryle Lamonica | Super Bowl II
1968 | Baltimore Colts | Earl Morrall | Super Bowl III
1977 | Denver Broncos | Craig Morton | Super Bowl XII
2000 | Baltimore Ravens | Trent Dilfer | Super Bowl XXXV*
2003 | Carolina Panthers | Jake Delhomme | Super Bowl XXXVIII
2020 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Tom Brady | Super Bowl LV*
2021 | Los Angeles Rams | Matthew Stafford | Super Bowl LVI
*Won Super Bowl
XIV - Both teams have former Giants in key positions. Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who set several Giants team records after he was their first-round draft choice in 2014, joined the Rams on Nov. 11 and has 19 catches and a touchdown in three postseason games. Cornerbacks Dont'e Deayon (2017-18) and Grant Haley (2018-19) began their careers with the Giants. Los Angeles special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis held the same position with the Giants under Dan Reeves from 1993-96. His assistant, Dwayne Stukes, was on the Giants' staff in 2016.
Cincinnati defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo was the Giants' defensive backs coach in 2018. Bengals starting cornerback Eli Apple was the Giants' first-round draft choice in 2016. He was traded to New Orleans in 2018 and is playing for his fourth team. Defensive lineman B.J. Hill was the Giants' third-round draft choice in 2018 and played three seasons before his trade to Cincinnati on Aug. 30 last year. Hill had a big interception in the Bengals' victory in Kansas City in the AFC Championship Game. Safety Michael Thomas played for the Giants in 2018-19 and was their Walter Payton Man of the year nominee in his first season with the team.
XV - The Giants were 9-7 in 2011 and join the 1967 Green Bay Packers (9-4-1) as the only Super Bowl winners with single-digit regular-season victory totals (excluding the 1982 strike season).
XVI - The team leading at halftime in the Super Bowl is 40-11 (there have been four ties). The Giants trailed at the half in each of their five Super Bowls, twice by a 10-9 score (XXI vs. Denver and XLVI against New England). Their highest first-half point total in a Super Bowl was 10 against Buffalo in XXV (they trailed, 12-10).
XVII - At age 40, Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth was the second-oldest player in the NFL this season behind Tom Brady and is older than both head coaches. Whitworth is in his fifth season with the Rams after playing his first 11 years with the Bengals.
XVIII - For a 17th consecutive season, the NFL will have a new Super Bowl champion, extending the longest streak without a repeat winner in league history. The last team to win consecutive Super Bowls was the 2003-04 New England Patriots.
View photos of the Giants' epic win over the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.
XIX - Defensive end Justin Tuck, who is in the Giants' Ring of Honor, sacked Tom Brady twice in both Super Bowl XLII and XLVI. He is the only player in NFL history with multiple sacks in multiple Super Bowls. His 4.0 in two Super Bowls is the second-highest total in the game's history. Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Haley had 4.5 sacks in five games. Individual sacks did not become an official statistic until 1982 (Super Bowl XVII).
XX - After never happening in the first 54 years of the Super Bowl, this is the second year in a row a team will play a Super Bowl in its home stadium (the Buccaneers defeated Kansas City last year in Tampa). The Rams are actually the visiting team and will wear their road white jerseys (which they might prefer after wearing blue in their loss to New England three years ago). They will get to use their customary game day locker room. The Bengals will dress in the locker room of the Chargers, who also call SoFi home.
XXI - The Rams are the fifth team to play a Super Bowl in their home state, joining the 1984 San Francisco 49ers (XIX in Palo Alto, Calif.), the 1979 Rams (XIV in Pasadena), the 2002 Oakland Raiders (XXXVII in San Diego) and the Buccaneers last year.
XXII - Los Angeles and Cincinnati each finished the season with 460 points (27.1 per game), tied for seventh in the NFL. Los Angeles allowed 372 points and Cincinnati game up 376.
XXIII - Eli Manning holds the record for most passing yards in a single postseason with 1,219 in the Giants' four-game run to win Super Bowl XLVI in the 2011 season. Arizona's Kurt Warner is second with 1,147 in 2008. In their first three games in the current postseason, Stafford has thrown for 905 yards and Burrow for 842.
XXIV - Cincinnati holds an 8-6 advantage in the series that began 50 years ago in 1972. They last met on Oct. 27, 2019, when the Rams beat the Bengals in London, 24-10. This will be the teams' first meeting in Los Angeles since Oct. 7, 1990, when the Bengals won in overtime, 34-31.
XXV - When the Rams won their only Super Bowl in the 1999 season, they were in the fifth season of their 21-year stay in St. Louis. Should they win Sunday, they will become the third franchise to win Super Bowls representing multiple cities, joining the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts and the Oakland/Los Angeles – and now Las Vegas – Raiders.
XXVI - Tampa Bay's victory last season put the NFC ahead of the AFC in Super Bowls, 28-27.
XXVII - They're not just regular Joes. Burrow can become the third starting quarterback – and the third Joe - to win both a collegiate national championship and a Super Bowl. The others were Joe Namath (Alabama 1964 and Super Bowl III with the Jets) and Joe Montana (Notre Dame 1977 and four Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers).Â
XXVIII - Burrow will be the 19th Heisman Trophy winner to play in the Super Bowl and the first since Newton six years ago. Ten Heisman winners have won a Super Bowl. The last player to win a Heisman and later a Super Bowl was running back Reggie Bush, who played for the 2009 Saints when they won Super Bowl XLIV.
XXIX - Burrow can become the first quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy, a national championship in college and a Super Bowl.
XXX - Stafford and Burrow both wear jersey No. 9. Three previous quarterbacks led their teams to Super Bowl victories wearing that number – Chicago's Jim McMahon in Super Bowl XX, New Orleans' Drew Brees in Super Bowl XLIV and Philadelphia's Nick Foles in Super Bowl LII. The only quarterback to wear No. 9 and lose a Super Bowl was Tennessee's Steve McNair in Super Bowl XXXIV. The Titans fell to the … Rams. This is the fourth Super Bowl, and the first in 43 years, in which both starting quarterbacks wear the same number. Dallas' Roger Staubach and Miami's Bob Griese wore No. 12 in Super Bowl VI as did Staubach and Pittsburgh's Terry Bradshaw in Super Bowls X and XIII.
XXXI - Thirty-five years ago, Giants quarterback Phil Simms set a Super Bowl record that still stands when he completed 88% of his passes (22 of 25) in a 39-20 rout of the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI.
XXXII - The Bengals won six total games in 2019-20, the fewest victories in the previous two seasons combined before a Super Bowl appearance. The previous low was eight wins by the 1981 San Francisco 49ers and the 2003 Carolina Panthers. Cincinnati was 4-11-1 in 2020. The four victories are tied for the fewest by a team the season before it advanced to the Super Bowl. The others, ironically, were the 1988 Bengals, the 1999 Rams, plus the 2019 49ers.
XXXIII - Cincinnati is the fifth team since 2000 to go from last place to first in their division and make the Super Bowl in the same season. Three of the four previous teams to do that – the 2017 Eagles, 2009 Saints and 2001 Patriots – won the Super Bowl:
Season | Team | Super Bowl | Prior Season Record
2021 | Cincinnati Bengals | Super Bowl LVI | 4-11-1 in 2020
2017 | Philadelphia Eagles* | Super Bowl LII | 7-9 in 2016
2009 | New Orleans Saints* | Super Bowl XLIV | 8-8 in 2008
2003 | Carolina Panthers | Super Bowl XXXVIII | 7-9 in 2002
2001 | New England Patriots* | Super Bowl XXXVI | 5-11 in 2000
*Won Super Bowl
XXXIV - A Cincinnati victory Sunday will give the Bengals their first championship in their 54-year history. That is by far the longest drought in NFL history from a team's inception. The previous longest stretch of seasons before winning a first NFL (or AFL) title was by the New Orleans Saints, who defeated Indianapolis in Super Bowl XLIV in the 43rd year of their existence.
XXXV - Linebacker/long snapper Steve DeOssie (Super Bowl XXV) and long snapper Zak DeOssie (XLII and XLVI) both won Super Bowls with the Giants, the only father/son duo to win the game with the same team.
XXXVI - Of the 55 Super Bowl MVP awards, 31 have been won by quarterbacks, including two by Eli Manning and one by Simms. The other Giants MVP was running back Ottis Anderson in Super Bowl XXV. Dallas linebacker Chuck Howley, the MVP of Super Bowl V, was the only player on a losing team to win the award.
XXXVII - The team with the most total yards in the Super Bowl is 41-14. That's no consolation to the Chiefs, who outgained Tampa Bay by 10 yards last year.
XXXVIII - The Giants' victory against Buffalo in XXV and the Rams' victory against Tennessee in XXXIV are the only Super Bowls in which neither team committed a turnover.
XXXIX - The team with the most passing yards in the Super Bowl is 29-26.
XL - When New England defeated the Rams in Super Bowl LIII, the Patriots' Sony Michel scored the game's only touchdown on a two-yard run. Michel was Los Angeles' leading rusher this season and is one of two Rams with a Super Bowl ring. The other is linebacker Von Miller, who was the game's MVP when Denver defeated Carolina in Super Bowl 50. No Bengals have won a Super Bowl, and safety Ricardo Allen, who played for Atlanta in Super Bowl LI, is the only Bengal to previously appear in the game.
XLI - Kickoff returns in the first 55 Super Bowls: 446. Kickoff return touchdowns: 10. Punt returns in the first 55 Super Bowls: 239. Punt return touchdowns: 0.
XLII - Eight former Giants assistant coaches have led teams to Super Bowls as head coaches. Six of the eight have won at least one Super Bowl. Former Giants assistant coaches are 15-10 as head coaches in Super Bowls.
Name | Giants Assistant | Team, Super Bowl(s)
Bill Belichick | 1979-90 | New England: XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLII, XLVI, XLIX, LI, LII, LIII (6-3)
Tom Coughlin | 1988-90 | Giants: XLII, XLVI (2-0)
Jim Fassel | 1991-92 | Giants: XXXV (0-1)
John Fox | 1997-2001 | Carolina: XXXVIII; Denver: XLVIII (0-2)
Tom Landry | 1954-59 | Dallas: V, VI, X, XII, XIII (2-3)
Vince Lombardi | 1954-58 | Green Bay: I, II (2-0)
Bill Parcells | 1979, 1981-82 | Giants: XXI, XXV; Patriots: XXXI (2-1)
Sean Payton | 1999-2002 | New Orleans: XLIV (1-0)
XLIII - The team with the most rushing yards in the Super Bowl is 41-13 (New England and Atlanta each rushed for 104 yards in Super Bowl LI).
View iconic photos from the Giants' Super Bowl XLII victory over the undefeated Patriots.