CiNCINNATI — UPDATE @ 11 p.m. (2/1):
The Cincinnati Bengals have finalized their travel plans for the Super Bowl.
The Bengals will land in Los Angeles February 8, five days early to prepare for the game, according to our news partners at WCPO.
WCPO reported that the team will practice at UCLA’s Drake Stadium prior to Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium.
INITIAL REPORT:
In just 13 days, the Cincinnati Bengals will take in the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
During a press conference Monday, following the Bengals’ 27-24 overtime win over the Kansas City Chiefs to claim the AFC Championship, head coach Zac Taylor was asked if it feels “a little unreal” to be going to the Super Bowl.
“You felt there was the bones of a special group here in the spring and in training camp, but there was also a lot of unknowns,” Taylor said.
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Taylor said the mood in the locker room shifted in the last month of the regular season and they thought they could play with any team in the league.
“We all know, those of us who have been in the league long enough, you just have to get hot at the right time and I’ve said that before, and we really felt like we were,” he said.
Now after three straight wins, the Bengals will try to cap off a historic season with the franchise’s first Super Bowl win.
After being asked, Taylor said they have not made a final decision on when the team would leave for Los Angeles. Until the leave, Taylor said they will try to keep game preparations at the team facility in Cincinnati feeling routine.
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“We’re going to do what’s best for our guys to make sure that we can get the prep work done here, in town, that we need to and try to keep things as business as usual this week, and then figure out what we’re going to do next week to get into the warmer weather and kind of get a routine out there in California,” Taylor said.
Taylor and some of his coaching staff have coached in the Super Bowl before, including when Taylor was on the Rams sideline during their last Super Bowl appearance in 2019. Taylor said the experience was valuable as the continue to prepare for Rams.
“We’ll lean on everybody with that recent expertise to help navigate these next two weeks,” he said.
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