How Rams can host Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium next season
With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeating the Kansas City Chiefs at home in Super Bowl 55, the season is officially over.
That means the clock has started for the Los Angeles Rams to diligently work toward a chance of hosting next year’s Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium, just like the Bucs accomplished this past season.
Of course, the work already started with the blockbuster trade for quarterback Matthew Stafford, which will not become official until the new league year begins on March 17.
Along with the addition of Stafford, several other things must align for the Rams to succeed in that vision for the franchise and owner Stan Kroenke. According to Caesars Sportsbook, the Rams have 13-1 odds at winning the NFL championship.
“That would be a blessing,” Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald said, when asked about the possibility of playing in a Super Bowl at home. “That’s what I’m working for. That’s what the coaches on our team and the guys are working for. That’s the ultimate goal, and that’s what you train for.
“And that’s what you prepare for, to have an opportunity to be on that stage and be playing for a world championship. That’s what we’re striving and working to get, no matter where we are playing. But it’s that much better if we can accomplish that back in L.A. That would be great.”
Here’s a closer look at five things the Rams must accomplish in the 2021 season to reach the big game:
1. Earn homefield advantage: Yes, Tampa Bay managed to win three road games as an NFC Wild on their way to a decisive Super Bowl win over Kansas City, but it’s much easier to punch your ticket to the big game at home.
According to the Associated Press, since the league instituted a seeding system in 1975, the No. 1 or No. 2 seeds have reached the Super Bowl 72 times while all other seeds got there 18 times. Only 11 of the 45 champions in that span were seeded Nos. 3-6.
The Rams finished 6-2 at home last season in their first year playing at SoFi Stadium, without fans in attendance doe to COVID.
“It’s not ideal to be the sixth and seventh seeds in these opportunities, I can tell you that from my days in Cincinnati,” Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. “It makes it a tough road. It’s happens, but it’s rare that teams win two or three games on the road in the playoffs to get to the Super Bowl.
“So, you’ve got to get yourself to win some of these games. You look at our season, there wee plenty of games during the season you can say, ‘Wow, if we just don’t make some mistakes here and there, stopping yourself or hurting yourself during the season, if you win those games, we’re in a much better seeding situation, and have ourselves an opportunity to have a little better position in the playoffs.’ But not only that, being able to execute and make sure you can play at the level of these top teams.”
Specifically, the Rams can’t lose to teams like the hapless New York Jets and twice to the 6-10 San Francisco 49ers during the regular season if they want to lock up home-field advantage in the postseason.
2. Stay healthy: For the most part, Los Angeles had their frontline players available during the regular season.
However, the postseason was a different matter. Jared Goff suffered a broken thumb against the Seahawks in the second-to-last game of the year, and that affected his ability to execute in the postseason. Aaron Donald was limited due to a rib injury in the NFC divisional playoffs and Cooper Kupp did not play because of a knee issue.
Andrew Whitworth was playing with a balky left knee. Darrell Henderson Jr. was on the injured reserve, along with safety Taylor Rapp. So, the Rams have to get through the regular season and into the postseason with more frontline guys healthy, along with finding a way to improve the quality of depth across the entire roster.
3. Matt Stafford has to play at elite level: Similar to the Kansas City Chiefs moving on from Alex Smith and replacing him with Patrick Mahomes, the Rams made the determination that Goff had taken them as far as he could after reaching the Super Bowl two years ago.
So, Stafford has to play like a top-10 quarterback in the NFL to propel the Rams to the Super Bowl. That means taking care of the football and executing at a high level in those got-to-have-it moments of the game on third down, in the red zone and in the fourth quarter.
Stafford has a 17-27 record so far in his career in the months of December and January, when NFL teams should be playing at their best. Yes, Stafford’s supporting cast in Detroit has a lot to do with that record, but as the quarterback he also has the most influence on whether the Lions win and lose in those contests.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that like Tom Brady, players have texted with Stafford expressing their interest with teaming up with him on the Rams, including Detroit Lions pending free agent WR Marvin Jones Jr. The Cal product has an offseason home in San Diego.
Of course, there’s a major difference between Brady, winner of seven Super Bowls, and Stafford -- holder of zero playoff wins.
It will be interesting to see how Stafford performs in late-season situations with his new team next season.
4. Defensive has to remain dominant: The Rams finished with the No. 1 scoring defense (18.5 points per game) and the No. 1 defense in total offense allowed (281 yards per game) last season under first-year defensive coordinator Brandon Staley.
Now that Brandon Staley has moved on as the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris will try and keep the defense at that elite level.
Rams head coach Sean McVay said his defense will keep Staley’s scheme in place, adding some new wrinkles under Morris. But it will be interesting to see if Morris can keep cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Donald playing at an elite level and will the Rams under tight budget constraints be able to keep talented defensive unrestricted free agents like edge rusher Leonard Floyd, safety John Johnson, slot defender Troy Hill and defensive tackle Morgan Fox.
5. A return to Sean McVay’s magical offense: The Rams finished No. 22 in scoring last season, averaging just 23.3 points a contest.
McVay’s Rams also finished No. 19 in the NFL in the red zone (57.9 percent) and averaged just 6.8 yards per passing play (No. 19).
In a nutshell, the Rams were not explosive on offense. McVay seems to believe a lot of his team’s lack of explosiveness fell at the shoulders of Goff, which is why he’s no longer leading the offense.
But perhaps the NFL has caught up to the innovative McVay? With a more talented quarterback in Stafford leading McVay’s offense, NFL observers will have a front row seat in finding the answer to that question in 2021.
