How have teams on ‘Hard Knocks’ performed in past seasons?

There’s some good news and bad news when it comes to past “Hard Knocks” history.

Los Angeles will be under a spotlight this summer with HBO’s “Hard Knocks” covering both the Rams and the Chargers this season. It’s a unique approach to the show, commemorating each team’s rebranding and the opening of SoFi Stadium.

Neither the Rams nor the Chargers were forced onto the show, but they volunteered to be featured. Typically, the teams selected to be on “Hard Knocks” are going through rough patches and struggle for years prior to appearing on the series, but that’s not necessarily the case with the Rams and Chargers.

Although the Chargers are coming off a 5-11 season, they were 12-4 in 2018 and 9-7 the year before. And we all know the Rams’ story, going 9-7 in 2019 after two straight playoff appearances under Sean McVay.

So how have past teams performed in the year that they appeared on “Hard Knocks”? It’s a bit of a mixed bag. According to NFL Research, only five of the last 14 teams to appear on the show made the playoffs.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that the majority of teams at least equaled or improved their previous season’s win total.

Of the last 10 teams to appear on “Hard Knocks,” eight of them either posted the same record as the year prior or won more games. Here’s a breakdown of that list, which dates back to the Bengals in 2009.

2019: Raiders

  • 7-9 in 2019, 4-12 in 2018

2018: Browns

  • 7-8-1 in 2018, 0-16 in 2017

2017: Buccaneers

  • 5-11 in 2017, 9-7 in 2016

2016: Rams

  • 4-12 in 2016, 7-9 in 2015

2015: Texans

  • 9-7 in 2015, 9-7 in 2014

2014: Falcons

  • 6-10 in 2014, 4-12 in 2013

2013: Bengals

  • 11-5 in 2013, 10-6 in 2012

2012: Dolphins

  • 7-9 in 2012, 6-10 in 2011

2011: No new season

2010: Jets

  • 11-5 in 2010, 9-7 in 2009

2009: Bengals

  • 10-6 in 2009, 4-11-1 in 2008

There were only four teams in that span who appeared on “Hard Knocks” the year after posting a winning record, and the Rams will make that five this season. Surprisingly, two of those teams still managed to improve their records, while one matched the previous season. The other (2017 Bucs) went from 9-7 to 5-11.

There’s hope for the Rams to bounce back and win more than nine games next season, but it’ll take an improvement from Jared Goff, the offensive line and the entire defense, which has a lot of new faces.