Home and away opponents for every NFL team have been announced. While we wait for the schedules to drop, take a look at who the Los Angeles Rams will face in 2019.
Since Sean McVay arrived as the team’s head coach in 2017, he has built the Los Angeles Rams into a legitimate contender. They have become a heavyweight out of the NFC West after back-to-back double-digit win seasons, two playoff berths and one Super Bowl appearance.
Of course, McVay and his boy genius, trendsetting offense fell short in the league’s biggest game. 2018 was a strange year in sunny Los Angeles. Out of the gate, and for a large chunk of the campaign, the Rams appeared to be a fully loaded Ford F-150. A big bully taking down every team in their path.
The driver of that truck was Jared Goff. He exemplified the team’s 2018 season the most. Meaning, he and the team looked to be unstoppable early on, but the demons in the closet crept out as the games got bigger.
Last season, the Rams had an overall record of 13-3. The team went 7-1 at home, 6-2 on the road, 6-0 in division and 9-3 against conference opponents.
So, who will they face in 2019?
Home: Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and Chicago Bears.
Away: Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys.
The Rams were dealt what appears to be a tough schedule that is packed with prime-time potential games. In-division will be much harder this upcoming season.
Why? The Seahawks will again be competitive, and we know how hard it is to win in their building. The Cardinals may have a new quarterback to pair with their first-year head coach in Kliff Kingsbury, so the face-lift may make the overall play prettier as well. San Francisco probably has the most potential to pressure the Rams, as they once again added this offseason and they could have a fully-healthy Jimmy Garoppolo back by kickoff.
Out of division, the Rams will play in a re-match of that excessively controversial NFC Championship game against the Saints, and they will also travel to take on the upstart Browns, the ‘who knows’ Falcons and the defensive-dominant Cowboys.
The Rams lost to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. McVay was out schemed by the legendary Bill Belichick, and Goff looked like the bust-potential gunslinger that Jeff Fisher nearly ruined.
However, the Rams will hit the drawing board and look to bounce back with another Super Bowl chase in 2019. Lamarcus Joyner and Rodger Saffold may be gone, but the team has added the likes of Eric Weddle and Clay Matthews.