Rams Repeat? Strength of Schedule Won't Help
The Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams know they have their work cut out for them if they intend to successfully defends their championship. It won't help that they're expected to have an incredibly tough schedule in 2022.
How tough?
Per Sharp Football Analysis, Los Angeles is scheduled to have the third most difficult schedule based on projected win totals for other teams in 2022.
In addition to facing the division rival San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, and Seattle Seahawks twice next season, the Rams will play the NFC South teams too. So look for matchups against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, and Carolina Panthers.
Of those teams, the Buccaneers are the only team that it seems would pose any kind of threat to the Rams.
The Rams are also slated to play teams from the AFC West, and that's one of the tougher divisions in all of football. The in-town rival Los Angeles Chargers are included, as well as the Las Vegas Raiders, who appear to already be better than last season, the re-tooled Denver Broncos, and Arizona Cardinals.
With the teams from the AFC West on the schedule, it should be no surprise that the Rams have the third-toughest schedule in the league.
But the Rams have done a bit of re-tooling themselves since the clock went to zeros in the Super Bowl in February. They've signed free agent linebacker Bobby Wagner and added him to existing talent like Matthew Stafford and Aaron Donald, and of course, Sean McVay is still calling the shots.
Even with the third-hardest schedule in the NFL, there's no reason to think Los Angeles can't "run it back" in 2022. And we all know that's the plan.
You can follow Timm Hamm on Twitter at @IndyCarTim
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