3 scheduling scenarios that spell disaster for the LA Rams

Road game rage

There there is my own personal pet peeve, the NFL loves to put West Coast teams on the road to play East Coast games. In 2020, the LA Rams played two consecutive games on the East Coast, first against the Philadelphia Eagles on week two. That was followed by a trip to face the Buffalo Bills in week three. Had the Bills played the game at SoFi? The outcome of the game would have ended entirely differently.

Three consecutive road games are even more difficult. So far, based on rumored scheduled games, the LA Rams travel on week five to face the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football, followed by a cross-country road game to face the New York Giants. The Rams could very easily be scheduled for another road game for week seven. That would become a very difficult game to play for the Rams. Would the Rams face the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore that week? If that happens, ugh.

The LA Rams face nine road games in 2021.  That type of schedule is particularly challenging, not simply for the fact that the Rams will be on the road more than at home, but the Rams can only play within SoFi Stadium when the other tenant, the LA Chargers are not playing. Besides the standard division rivals, the Rams must travel to the Minnesota Vikings, the Green Bay Packers, the New York Giants, the Houston Texans, the Indianapolis Colts, and the Baltimore Ravens. Of the group, the Ravens and Giants have the farthest distance to travel.  The Packers (snow and cold) have the worst weather conditions.

The Rams are already facing a Packers team on November 28, the heart of the cold and snowy weather. The Rams already face two consecutive road games. So far, the only known home game is the season opener against the always tough Chicago Bears. Of course, you have to play the schedule that the NFL puts out there. But as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers discovered in 2020, a late bye-week, followed by the four weakest teams of the schedule, can give a team tremendous momentum into the playoffs. Perhaps even to a Super Bowl victory?