The 2019 Los Angeles Rams schedule is now revealed to the team and the public in its finality. At first glance, there are several reasons for Rams fans to be excited. I know I was. But after all the hoopla and subsequent fallout subsided, something like “what the heck…” escaped my lips. Seems, when you consider and examine information from various sources you get conflicting signals. In this case, signals announced in neon, THE RAMS CAN GO UNDEFEATED AND NOT REACH THE SUPER BOWL. See for yourself.
2019 Los Angeles Rams Schedule: Conflicting Signals
The Schedule
- Week 1: at Carolina Panthers (10:00AM/PT – FOX)
- Week 2: vs New Orleans Saints (1:25PM/PT – FOX)
- Week 3: at Cleveland Browns (5:20PM/PT/SNF – NBC)
- Week 4: vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1:05PM/PT – FOX)
- Week 5: at Seattle Seahawks (5:20PM/PT/TNF– FOX/NFLN)
- Week 6: vs San Francisco 49ers (1:05PM/PT – FOX)
- Week 7: at Atlanta Falcons (10:00AM/PT – FOX)
- Week 8: vs Cincinnati Bengals (10:00AM/PT/London – CBS)
- Week 9: BYE
- Week 10: at Pittsburgh Steelers (1:25PM/PT – FOX)
- Week 11: vs Chicago Bears (5:20PM/PT/SNF – NBC)
- Week 12: vs Baltimore Ravens (5:15PM/PT/MNF – ESPN)
- Week 13: at Arizona Cardinals (1:05PM/PT – FOX)
- Week 14: vs Seattle Seahawks (5:20PM/PT/SNF – NBC)
- Week 15: at Dallas Cowboys (1:25PM/PT – FOX)
- Week 16: at San Francisco 49ers (Saturday – Flex – TBA)
- Week 17: vs Arizona Cardinals (1:25PM/PT – FOX)
The Breakdown: What Stands Out
Many eyes went straight to the marquee match-up everyone from Santa Barbara to New Orleans is waiting for. The Rams will face the New Orleans Saints in Week 2. Rams general manager Les Snead dubbed this the rubber match Wednesday in reference to the last two relevant contests of 2018. But unlike last season, this game will happen in the autumn air of Los Angeles…on…real…grass.
What also stands out is that almost immediately following the bye, the Rams have their toughest defensive stretch in the Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens. You can usually throw the Pittsburgh Steelers into this category but their defense was less than spectacular last season. At second glance, Baltimore lost considerable talent on defense, too. However, the Bears will still be the Bears defensively. So you look deeper still and you may realize that this stands to be another fun season. Meaning, it could be quite offensive to those that love defense.
The Rams Will Need To Score…More!
Not knowing things to come pre-2018 season, I estimated that the Rams had seven games (games, not teams) in which they needed to score upwards of the high 20s to win. This year, that number grows to ten games and I excluded unknown factors like how the NFL Draft’s first pick impacts his team. Potentially, last year’s offensive output across the league continues, to the NFL’s delight. The Rams appear to face a number of teams expected to be responsible for next season’s excitement. This time, the Ravens are included in the conversation because their scoring excels under Lamar Jackson. I failed — possibly on purpose. I’m not sayin’ — to give the San Francisco 49ers the benefit of the doubt. At this point, I think they’ll get swept convincingly.
Where Things Don’t Add Up
Top 10 #NFL teams with the best % Chance to go 16-0
1) #Rams 54%
2) #Eagles 48%
3) #Patriots 45%
4) #Saints 44%
5) #Chiefs 38%
6 #Packers 38%
7) #Chargers 37%
8) #Colts 36%
9) #Steelers 35%
10) #Browns 35% https://t.co/UIek2KIEjK— Adam Stark (@EverydayFFB) April 18, 2019
Look at the above-Projected Team Win Percentage chart closely. Notice that the Rams are the only team with a weekly win percentage that does not sink to 50% or below. The New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles, and Kansas City Chiefs do this twice. The Saints do it just once. Of course, one initial reaction can and probably will be that the Rams have the easiest schedule. But how often does this way of thinking play out correctly after a season’s over?
As we can also see, the Rams have the best chance to go undefeated next season. This, apparently, applies only to the regular season because when you visit respected Las Vegas information and betting sites like Vegasinsider.com you see that the Saints are favored to win the NFC Conference championship. How can this be? The odds of any team in the NFL going 16-0 go against them. Yet and still, the Rams can end the season with the best overall win-loss record. This means that the Saints will travel to Los Angeles a second time come postseason, 2018’s outcome reversed.
This is all the best case scenario for both teams so don’t get too worked up this early. Most of what you might currently find will be pre-schedule release anyway. Simply take from this article that in 2019 the odds are in our favor.
