LA Rams face the 10th toughest 2020 schedule in the NFL

The LA Rams face the 10th toughest schedule in the NFL per NFL.com ranking of strength of schedule for 2020

The LA Rams enter a brand new stadium in 2020. The team will boast a new offensive and defensive coordinator. And the roster will have a new makeover altogether.   Will it be enough?  We remain optimistic that the LA Rams will return to the NFL Playoffs in 2020.

Part of our optimism is the way the 2020 schedule seems to have played out for the Rams.  The Rams will face the the NFC East and AFC east in 2020.  While the AFC East had improved with the emergence of the Buffalo Bills as a 2019 playoff team, the NFC East division winner Philadelphia Eagles barely ended the season over .500, winning it all with just a 9-7 record.

But the Rams play in the NFC West, and as such face two playoff teams in the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks twice.  That is enough for NFL.com to rank the Rams 2020 schedule as the tenth toughest schedule in the NFL.

Beyond that, the Rams were just 3-6 when facing teams over .500 in 2019.

How do other NFC West teams’ schedules rank?
The San Francisco 49ers face the fourth toughest schedule in 2020, while boasting a 6-2 record when facing teams whose records were better than .500.
The Arizona Cardinals have the ninth toughest schedule in 2020.  The Cardinals were just 1-8 in 2019 when facing teams playing at .500 or better.
Finally, the Seattle Seahawks face the 13th toughest schedule in the NFL in 2020. The Seahawks were just 5-4 when facing teams playing .500 or better.

So what does this mean?

Well believe it or not, it confirms what we’d stated previously. The LA Rams 2020 schedule leaves plenty of room for optimism.  The Rams face easier teams this season than that of the 49er or the Cardinals.  And while the Seattle Seahawks have a slightly easier schedule in 2020, the Rams will be boosted on the home field by debuting at the $5 billion SoFi Stadium sports complex.

The key to 2020 for the LA Rams will be how the team plays against division rivals. In 2019, the Rams ended the season 3-3 against the NFC West: 2-0 Arizona Cardinals, 1-1 Seattle Seahawks, 0-2 San Francisco 49ers.  Like most seasons before and after, the Rams need to win against NFC West teams outright.

As the team restocks the roster and designs new offensive and defensive playbooks for 2020, that should be the goal for 2020.