Photos: Super Bowl LVI Quarterbacks Matthew Stafford, Joe Burrow

INGLEWOOD, CA — On Super Bowl Sunday, two starting quarterbacks will take the field at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The careers of these two quarterbacks have rare traits in common, as well as rare differences.

Super Bowl LVI features L.A. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. Both Stafford and Burrow were No. 1 NFL draft picks. Burrow was drafted by the Bengals in the 2020 NFL Draft, and Stafford was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 2009 NFL Draft.

It's just the second time in NFL history that two No. 1 picks at quarterback have started in a Super Bowl. The other? Peyton Manning and Cam Newton in Super Bowl 50.

Yet there's a difference between Stafford and Burrow in how each found their way to the Super Bowl.

Burrow's meteoric rise from collegiate Heisman winner to Super Bowl starter came in his second NFL season. In fact, Burrow also has the chance to do something no other NFL quarterback has accomplished — winning the football "triple crown." The "triple crown" is an informal honor that means winning the Heisman award, winning a college football national championship, and winning a Super Bowl.

It could be said that Stafford took the long path to the Super Bowl — enduring more than a decade toiling away in the NFC North for the Detroit Lions before a trade that served as a springboard to a winning team and a Super Bowl appearance.

With the No. 1 draft in 2009, the great hope in Detroit was that Stafford would be able to deliver winning seasons and a Super Bowl to the team's long-suffering fans. Stafford's teams made the playoffs only three times, only to lose all three games.

After 12 years in the Motor City, the 33-year-old Stafford was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in the hopes that he would become the final piece of the puzzle that included a dominant defense and powerful pass rush.

The trade paid off for the Los Angeles Stafford-led Rams, who went on to notch a 12-5 regular-season record in 2021 and now a Super Bowl appearance.

This season with the Rams, Stafford threw for 41 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He attempted 601 passes, completing 404 of them for 4,886 yards making for a quarterback rating of 102.9, which is an elite level. Stafford played slightly better than his career average across most statistical categories for the Rams in his first year with the team.

As Stafford was leading the Lions, Burrow was drafted from LSU. Burrow led LSU to win the 2020 College National Championship. Burrow threw an astonishing 60 touchdown passes against six interceptions that season.

In his first NFL season, the Burrow-led Bengals went 4-11. In 2021, Burrow helped the Bengals engineer a dramatic turnaround, winning 10 games while losing 7. In reaching the Super Bowl, Burrow helped end the team's 31-year drought without a playoff win.

In 16 regular-season games with the Bengals, Burrow threw for 34 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He attempted 520 passes for 366 completions for 4,611 passing yards.

Another trait Burrow and Stafford have in common comes via Burrow's lack of NFL experience and Stafford's record of futility. Both quarterbacks had yet to win an NFL playoff game until this year. The last time both Super Bowl starting quarterbacks entered the game without a getting playoff win before that season was 22 years ago.

Until kickoff, it's anybody's guess whether the Rams or Bengals will end up victorious. Yet for both Burrow and Stafford, Super Bowl LVI represents the first time each has reached the NFL's pinnacle.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.