The Los Angeles Rams will reveal their complete 2020 regular-season schedule on Thursday night at 4:30 p.m. PT, which is 30 minutes before the NFL will release the complete slate of games. We already know who the Rams will play next season, but the order and dates of those games has yet to be determined.
With the coronavirus pandemic throwing a wrench into things and creating an unprecedented level of uncertainty, it’s not exactly clear how the NFL will lay out the 2020 schedule.
Will divisional games be pushed back to later in the season in the event that early games are canceled this fall? Could bye weeks be eliminated in the event that the season is shortened?
The NFL surely has contingency plans in place, and soon enough, we’ll know exactly when the Rams will be playing each team – including the highly anticipated home opener at SoFi Stadium.
We took a stab at predicting how the Rams’ schedule could look in 2020.
Note: Prime-time games are labeled with an asterisk (*)
Week 1: vs. Dallas Cowboys*
Week 2: vs. New York Jets
Week 3: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers*
Week 4: at Miami Dolphins
Week 5: vs. Seattle Seahawks
Week 6: vs. New York Giants
Week 7: at Arizona Cardinals
Week 8: at Buffalo Bills
Week 9: vs. San Francisco 49ers*
Week 10: Bye
Week 11: at Washington Redskins
Week 12: at Seahawks*
Week 13: vs. New England Patriots
Week 14: vs. Chicago Bears
Week 15: at Philadelphia Eagles*
Week 16: vs. Cardinals
Week 17: at 49ers
There are three teams that make the most sense to open SoFi Stadium against the Rams: the Seahawks, 49ers and Cowboys. Based on Jerry Jones’ influence on getting the Rams back to Los Angeles, and his outspoken desire to have the Cowboys play the first game at SoFi Stadium, the stars could align with Rams-Cowboys being a prime-time matchup in Week 1.
As for the rest of the schedule, the NFL would be giving the Rams a break by scheduling their road games against the Bucs and Dolphins in back-to-back weeks, allowing them to stay in Florida for two weeks.
Late in the year, they get the Cardinals and 49ers to close out the season, which would be a familiar alignment for the Rams. The NFL typically puts divisional matchups in Weeks 16 and 17.
Five prime-time games would also align with recent history for the Rams, especially with SoFi Stadium opening and the NFL wanting to feature it on the big stage often.
This is just a guess as to how the schedule will look, but it won’t be long before we see the full 17-week lineup.