The Los Angeles Rams opened as 4.5-point favorites over the Cincinnati Bengals for Super Bowl 56. Days later that spread remains the same at Tipico Sportsbook, as the Rams are thought to have the more complete team heading into the big game.
However, as the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history have shown, being the more complete team or having an edge in Vegas doesn’t always guarantee a win. In fact, as 4.5-point favorites, the Rams actually have reason to be worried.
If the spread holds steady, Los Angeles will be battling some peculiar history when the game finally kicks off. Teams to play in the Super Bowl as 4.5-point favorites are 0-3 in the game, according to historical spreads on Pro Football Reference.
That’s right, 4.5-point favorites have never won a Super Bowl.
In general, having to clear five points has been a weird pocket for Super Bowl teams, as the only instance of a 5-point spread also resulted in a loss for the favored team.
While this may be nothing more than one of those interesting and fun coincidences, that won’t sap any excitement from Bengals fans looking for more reasons to believe their team can pull it off. So, below is a look at those four Super Bowl upsets and how the games played out.