LA Rams need to channel their King of the Road this year

The LA Rams were never going to have an easy schedule in the 2022 NFL season. Not only did the team inherit the AFC West and NFC South, but the team was slated to face the top NFL teams of 2021 this year. That meant that if there was a team that found its way to the NFL playoffs last year, there was always a good chance that the same team would find its way onto the LA Rams schedule this year.

Complicating all of this is the fact that the NFC West sent three teams to the NFL playoffs a year ago. The LA Rams face NFC West teams twice in 2022.

Of course, some teams would be faced within the familiar confines of SoFi Stadium. But others? Well, that’s what this is all about. The team will be on the road for eight of their 17 games this year. And this road schedule is downright brutal folks.

What do we know? Well, we know that the LA Rams face eight teams on the road, who amassed an aggregate record of 85 wins and 51 losses in 2021.  While not all teams have improved in the offseason, some have.  With the exception of the Tennessee Titans, the Rams must face four of the Top Five winningest teams from 2021, and of that amount, the team faces three of the Top Five winningest teams on the road.

The 2022 NFL schedule is doing the Rams no favors this year:

2022 Rams Schedule tracker

Week 1: TBD – Rumored Buffalo Bills vs LA Rams

Week 2: TBD

Week 3: Rumored LA Rams @ Arizona Cardinals

Week 4: Rumored LA Rams @ San Francisco 49ers

Week 5: TBD

Week 6: TBD

Week 7: TBD

Week 8: TBD

Week 9: Rumored LA Rams @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 10: TBD

Week 11: TBD

Week 12: Rumored LA Rams @ Kansas City Chiefs, 1:25 pm PT FOX

Week 13: TBD

Week 14: TBD

Week 15: Rumored LA Rams @ Green Bay Packers MNF

Week 16: Denver Broncos @ LA Rams Sunday, Dec. 25 at 1:30 pm PT CBS Link

Week 17: Rumored LA Rams @ LA Chargers at 5:20 pm PT

Week 18: Rumored LA Rams @ Seattle Seahawks

All in all, the team appears to have the most difficult schedule in the NFL right now. Of course, that works both ways. By facing the best of the NFL through the regular season, win or lose, the Rams will have a far better understanding of who they may be facing if and when they face them again in the post-season.

It’s a rough road this season, figuratively and literally. But I would not rule out the Rams just yet. This team showed remarkable resiliency through a wide spectrum of adversity in 2021. Now, with a team that is far more acclimated and familiar with one another, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that the team will be improved for 2022.

Pack your bags, folks. The Rams have a rough road to travel this year.