Perhaps the worst scheduling quirk for a West Coast team is the dreaded early kickoff in the Eastern Time Zone. A 1 p.m. ET kickoff for a team that resides in California means they have to get their bodies ready for a game that begins at 10 a.m. PT, which isn’t always easy.
Don’t tell that to the Rams because it’s never bothered Sean McVay’s team. They should be well-rested and well-prepared for Sunday’s game against the Giants, which will begin at 1 p.m. ET.
Since 2017, the Rams have been excellent in 1 p.m. games in the Eastern Time Zone. They’ve gone 9-3 in such games under McVay, with one of those losses being their overtime defeat against the Ravens in Week 14.
In their first such game, the Rams beat the Giants easily, 51-17. Jared Goff threw four touchdown passes and had a 146.8 passer rating, while the Rams as a team rushed for 162 yards and two touchdowns.
The Rams have won six of their 12 early Eastern Time Zone games comfortably. They’ve won by at least 14 points in six of those contests and have scored at least 30 points in nine of their 12 games in this kickoff window.
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| Rk | Team | Date ▼ |
TD | Day | G# | Week | Opp | Result | Cmp | Att | Inc | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Int | TD% | Int% | Rate | Sk | Yds | Sk% | Y/A | NY/A | AY/A | ANY/A | Y/C | |
| 1 | LAR | 2023-12-10 | 3 | Sun | 13 | 14 | @ | BAL | L 31-37 (OT) | 23 | 41 | 18 | 56.1 | 282 | 3 | 0 | 7.3 | 0.0 | 103.1 | 2 | 12 | 4.65 | 6.9 | 6.56 | 8.34 | 7.95 | 12.3 |
| 2 | LAR | 2023-10-01 | 1 | Sun | 4 | 4 | @ | IND | W 29-23 (OT) | 27 | 40 | 13 | 67.5 | 303 | 1 | 1 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 89.5 | 2 | 16 | 4.76 | 7.6 | 7.21 | 6.95 | 6.62 | 11.2 |
| 3 | LAR | 2021-10-17 | 4 | Sun | 6 | 6 | @ | NYG | W 38-11 | 22 | 30 | 8 | 73.3 | 234 | 4 | 2 | 13.3 | 6.7 | 109.9 | 2 | 17 | 6.25 | 7.8 | 7.31 | 7.47 | 7.00 | 10.6 |
| 4 | LAR | 2021-09-19 | 2 | Sun | 2 | 2 | @ | IND | W 27-24 | 19 | 30 | 11 | 63.3 | 270 | 2 | 1 | 6.7 | 3.3 | 101.8 | 1 | 8 | 3.23 | 9.0 | 8.71 | 8.83 | 8.55 | 14.2 |
| 5 | LAR | 2020-11-01 | 1 | Sun | 8 | 8 | @ | MIA | L 17-28 | 35 | 61 | 26 | 57.4 | 340 | 1 | 2 | 1.6 | 3.3 | 65.9 | 2 | 15 | 3.17 | 5.6 | 5.40 | 4.43 | 4.29 | 9.7 |
| 6 | LAR | 2020-10-11 | 2 | Sun | 5 | 5 | @ | WAS | W 30-10 | 21 | 30 | 9 | 70.0 | 300 | 2 | 1 | 6.7 | 3.3 | 111.7 | 1 | 9 | 3.23 | 10.0 | 9.68 | 9.83 | 9.52 | 14.3 |
| 7 | LAR | 2020-09-27 | 2 | Sun | 3 | 3 | @ | BUF | L 32-35 | 23 | 32 | 9 | 71.9 | 311 | 2 | 1 | 6.3 | 3.1 | 111.6 | 2 | 10 | 5.88 | 9.7 | 9.15 | 9.56 | 9.00 | 13.5 |
| 8 | LAR | 2020-09-20 | 3 | Sun | 2 | 2 | @ | PHI | W 37-19 | 20 | 27 | 7 | 74.1 | 258 | 3 | 0 | 11.1 | 0.0 | 142.1 | 1 | 9 | 3.57 | 9.6 | 9.21 | 11.78 | 11.36 | 12.9 |
| 9 | LAR | 2019-10-20 | 2 | Sun | 7 | 7 | @ | ATL | W 37-10 | 23 | 38 | 15 | 60.5 | 291 | 2 | 0 | 5.3 | 0.0 | 102.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 7.7 | 7.66 | 8.71 | 8.71 | 12.7 |
| 10 | LAR | 2019-09-08 | 1 | Sun | 1 | 1 | @ | CAR | W 30-27 | 23 | 39 | 16 | 59.0 | 183 | 1 | 1 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 69.0 | 1 | 3 | 2.50 | 4.7 | 4.58 | 4.05 | 3.95 | 8.0 |
| 11 | LAR | 2018-12-02 | 1 | Sun | 12 | 13 | @ | DET | W 30-16 | 17 | 33 | 16 | 51.5 | 195 | 1 | 1 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 68.6 | 2 | 12 | 5.71 | 5.9 | 5.57 | 5.15 | 4.86 | 11.5 |
| 12 | LAR | 2017-11-05 | 4 | Sun | 8 | 9 | @ | NYG | W 51-17 | 14 | 22 | 8 | 63.6 | 311 | 4 | 0 | 18.2 | 0.0 | 146.8 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 14.1 | 14.14 | 17.77 | 17.77 | 22.2 |
Is that a sign of things to come when the Rams visit the Giants on Sunday afternoon as 6.5-point favorites? They certainly hope so because they have a chance to clinch a playoff berth with a win and a Seahawks loss.
