After reaching Super Bowl LIII last February, the Los Angeles Rams regressed and became just an average team in 2019. The offense wasn’t close to what it was in 2018, while the defense found absolutely no consistency.
It isn’t all doom and gloom for the Rams, though. There are still plenty of reasons to be optimistic for the 2020 season, even after they went just 9-7 this past year.
The Rams have the potential to be a Super Bowl contender next season if their top players perform up to expectations, and if the front office is able to replace potential departures in free agency.
Here are five reasons for hope for the Rams in 2020.
Jared Goff showed he can be a top QB in 2018
There were a number of factors that led to Goff’s disappointing 2019 season. His offensive line was constantly undergoing changes due to injury and it struggled all year long. The Rams’ running game was almost non-existent, partly due to Todd Gurley’s reduced workload and his ineffectiveness in most games.
Goff, himself, deserves plenty of blame for the way he played, too, but he’s also shown he can be a top quarterback before. In 2018, he was an MVP candidate until the Rams’ Week 12 bye, after which he regressed. In the first 11 games of that season, he threw 26 touchdown passes and six interceptions with a passer rating of 113.5.
If he returns to that level of play in 2020, the Rams will look more like the team that made it to the Super Bowl than the one that missed the playoffs. A lot of their success hinges on Goff, and while his 2019 campaign was concerning, his 2018 season is reason for hope.