By winning the NFC West, the Rams have to play the 3 hardest games of any team in the division
First, the Rams “lost” homefield advantage despite winning the NFC West this season. Now they have to overcome the toughest schedule in the division in 2025. This month would be a great time for Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford to get back to the Super Bowl and win another title before they have to look ahead.
By winning the NFC West, the Rams face the “first place team” schedule and that means that they will be playing 3 of the best teams in the NFL. Three teams that nobody else in the NFC West has to play:
- The 15-2 Detroit Lions (first in NFC North)
- The 14-3 Philadelphia Eagles (first in NFC East)
- The 12-5 Baltimore Ravens (first in AFC North)
It’s not just that these three teams are really good. A lot of teams could be “really good” next season. Maybe one or all three of these teams will be mediocre next season, who knows?
It’s more that they won divisions where it wouldn’t be hard to see the second place team taking a dive in 2025 and that means that L.A.’s 2025 schedule is going to be significantly tougher than the second place Seahawks, third place Cardinals, and the fourth place 49ers.
Instead of facing the Lions, Eagles, and Ravens, the Seahawks will play:
- The Vikings, Commanders, and Steelers
Minnesota went 13-4 two years ago and then flopped in 2023, so what’s to say the same thing won’t happen given the uncertain situation with free agent Sam Darnold? The Steelers don’t have a quarterback signed for 2025 and will they even want to bring back Russell Wilson or Justin Fields? And how lucky was Dan Quinn in his first season with Washington?
Instead of facing the Lions, Eagles, and Ravens, the 49ers will play:
- The 5-12 Bears, the 3-14 Giants, and 3-14 Browns
Run that back through your head again: The 49ers will play the Bears instead of the Lions, the Giants instead of the Eagles, and the Browns instead of the Ravens.
How easy will it be for McVay to hold off Kyle Shanahan when he might have 3 fewer tough games on his schedule?
And the Cardinals will face:
- The Packers, Cowboys, and Bengals
It seems like Arizona could revert back to fourth place if these three teams improve as expected next season.
The L.A. Rams had it tough already. It’s not getting easier.
