Zac Taylor listed a dozen players he wanted the Cincinnati Bengals to keep after he was hired as the head coach in 2019.

Taylor asked those players to believe in what he was building as the organization turned over the roster. It didn’t take Taylor, the Rams’ quarterbacks coach before getting hired in Cincinnati, long to transform the Bengals into a Super Bowl team, but patience was required when the process got ugly last season.

The Bengals were 2-14 during Taylor’s first year and followed that with a 4-11-1 record in 2020. The losing seasons, however, didn’t hurt as much as the season-ending knee injury star quarterback Joe Burrow sustained 10 games into his sensational rookie season last year.

Not long after Burrow’s devastating injury, Taylor spoke with safety Jessie Bates III, running back Joe Mixon and wide receiver Tyler Boyd, three players who were on his must-keep list. He wanted to make sure they still believed.

“He was challenging us to step up,” Bates recalled about his meeting with Taylor last year. “Embrace the situation. We knew what we had here. We knew what we were building. Sometimes it comes with the struggle. If you learn from it, it’s not really a struggle.

“I’m thankful for the struggles that we had. I think that’s why we’re so close as a team.”

The two-week lead-up to Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium started with many pundits saying the Rams had the better players and their stout defense was going to be too much for the Bengals’ subpar offensive line. But as the days went by, more people started to believe in the Bengals, the same way Bates did when Taylor was hired.

The Bengals might be young and inexperienced, but that’s been overshadowed by their collective confidence. And they might be just as talented as the Rams, with Burrow, rookie star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, clutch rookie kicker Evan McPherson and a revamped defense led by Bates and defensive end Trey Hendrickson.

It took playoff victories over the Las Vegas Raiders, Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs to get noticed. Now the Bengals are finally getting respect and they are more than prepared for Sunday’s showdown.

“No extra film,” said Burrow, the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year. “We’ve had two weeks to watch it. I’m tired of watching film. I’m ready to go play.”

Burrow was sacked nine times versus the Titans and that’s why many weren’t giving them a chance against the Rams’ ferocious pass rush with Aaron Donald, Von Miller and Leonard Floyd.

“I wouldn’t say that,” Burrow said after being asked if the offensive line is the weakest area on the team. “I think those guys work really hard. They’ve been really good for us this year. I know we’ve given up some sacks and everyone likes to talk about that, but a lot of those are on me. Situationally, sometimes sacks are OK.”

Burrow will see pressure in the pocket Sunday, but he quickly emerged as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL because he excels in deciphering defenses in pre- and post-snap. If the Rams aren’t able to confuse Burrow, he’ll make them pay with his standout receiving trio of Chase, Boyd and Tee Higgins.

Chase versus Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey will be a must-see matchup, and the Bengals are confident in the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year finding success against one of the game’s best coverage players.

Taylor said he wasn’t surprised about Chase’s standout rookie year because he had one of the greatest college highlight tapes he’s ever seen, but he also said that about Rams star wide receiver Cooper Kupp, the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year.

Bates said he and safety Vonn Bell will need to be on the same page, something they’ve done most season, to contain Kupp and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. from turning catches into long gains. The Bengals’ defense was able to limit the Chiefs’ explosive offense to three points in the second half of the AFC Championship Game.

But the Bengals will have a tough challenge against Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who will appear in his first Super Bowl in his 13th NFL season.

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It took Burrow only two seasons to hit the Super Bowl stage and his prolific postseason performances and noticeable swagger have overshadowed Stafford.

He’s definitely no underdog when his Super Bowl run is being compared to the other Not So Ordinary Joes – Joe Namath and Joe Montana.

“I’m trying to be the best player that I can be,” Burrow said. “I’m trying to be the best Joe Burrow I can be. It doesn’t matter. Everyone likes to make these comparisons, but I’m just trying to be the best player that I can be. I’m not trying to compare myself to anybody else.”

What the Bengals are doing is working and they belong on the big stage. But they saw this coming when Taylor asked them to believe three years ago.