Cincinnati Bengals safety Vonn Bell is a big reason why the team is playing in Super Bowl LVI.
His play and consistent leadership in the postseason have given Cincinnati’s defense a boost when they’ve needed it most. Bell was brought to the Bengals to bring a winning mentality and he’s proving he can do that in his second year.
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The Bengals and Bell will spend the next week preparing to stop the NFL’s best wide receiver in Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams.
Kupp finished the 2021 regular season as the NFL's leader in receptions (145), receiving yards (1,947) and receiving touchdowns (16), becoming the first player since Steve Smith in 2005 to earn the league's receiving "triple crown" title.
Kupp certainly has Bell’s attention.
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“He’s a phenomenal talent,” Bell said of Kupp. “He knows leverage, what the defense gives him and he knows the offense. That’s why he does a great job setting up his routes. Really using his craftiness doing that when guys get impatient or aggressive. He’s working all field leverage. He does a phenomenal job doing that.”
Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo’s defensive game plan will likely start with how to try and take Kupp out of the game. But if there is one Bengals player who will study Kupp’s tape more than anyone, it will be Bell.
Bell is known inside the walls of the Bengals’ facility for his relentless work ethic. He prides himself on being the first player in the building every morning to get an early lift and film study in.
The day after winning the AFC Championship against the Kansas City Chiefs, Bell said he was at the facility by 6:30 a.m. It was Bell who made the game-winning play on defense when he intercepted Patrick Mahomes’ pass after fellow safety Jessie Bates broke up the pass.
“Vonn, since the day he got here he’s the ultimate pro,” Anarumo said. “He does everything the right way. Nobody is going to be more prepared than him. He’s in here at 6 a.m. lifting, watching tape, he is a true gym rat.”
When the Rams traded for quarterback Matthew Stafford in the offseason of 2021, the expectation was he would take head coach Sean McVay’s offense to the next level – specifically in the passing game.
With Stafford under center, the Rams ranked No. 5 in passing offense, averaging 273.1 yards per game. Los Angeles’ 41 passing touchdowns was the second-most in the NFL during the regular season.
The Bengals key to success on defense is their ability to create turnovers and limit explosive plays. In Cincinnati’s three playoff games, the Bengals have produced turnovers on 12.7 percent of their opponents’ drives, recording seven total turnovers.
It will be critical for the Bengals to not allow the Rams to pull ahead with a big lead early, though. Despite quarterback Joe Burrow being able to make up a three-score deficit, Los Angeles is at its best when it plays with a lead. With the talented pass-rushers the Rams have in Aaron Donald, Von Miller and Leonard Floyd, their defense is centered around putting teams passing situations more often than not.
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Bell and the Bengals will lean on what got them to this moment no matter who is on the other side of the ball, even if it’s the best wide receiver in the game in Kupp.
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“It’s about we,” Bell said. “How we get along so well is because we hold everybody accountable. There’s no egos in the locker room. It’s family. That’s the biggest thing. And guys want everybody to eat. Everybody can be successful and we breed off that. When one guy is getting the shine, everybody will get the shine. Especially when you’re winning. There’s a lot of cameras that are going to be out there. They’re coming out to see us, just not one person. They’re coming to see us. So that’s the biggest thing. That’s just the culture that we instilled. And that’s the standard”
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