It’ll be hard for the Los Angeles Rams to top what they accomplished last season, going 12-5 and winning Super Bowl LVI. It was a perfect result after acquiring Matthew Stafford (and eventually Odell Beckham Jr. and Von Miller), proving it was the right move to make – as bold as it was.
Heading into 2022, expectations remain high, even after winning it all just five months ago. The NFC as a whole looks weaker, but the Rams’ schedule is arguably the toughest in the league.
USA TODAY’s Nate Davis (subscriber only) still sees Los Angeles winning a bunch of games and making the playoffs, predicting the Rams to go 12-5 and reach the divisional round. Davis has them finishing as the No. 2 seed but losing to the Packers in the second round after beating the Saints in the wild-card game.
(2) Los Angeles Rams (12-5): No champ has pulled off a Super Bowl repeat in 18 years. The Rams should at least be prohibitive divisional favorites given the varying degrees of upheaval the other three teams are coping with. But LA walked quite a tightrope in last season’s playoffs, winning each of the last three games by three points – and that was with the likes of Miller and still-unsigned WR Odell Beckham Jr. The Rams also must survive the league’s toughest schedule based on opponents’ 2021 winning percentage (.567).
The seven NFC teams Davis has making the playoffs are the Bucs as the No. 1 seed, followed by the Rams, Packers, Eagles, 49ers, Cowboys and Saints in that order. There are no real surprises there, and the Rams are more than capable of beating all of them.
What will determine the Rams’ season is the pass rush, the offensive line and the secondary. Every other position group looks solid on paper, so long as no major injuries occur. If the replacements for Von Miller, Austin Corbett, Andrew Whitworth and Darious Williams step up, the Rams will be in great shape.
