The Rams’ preseason schedule gets underway this weekend when they face the Chargers at SoFi Stadium. For the most part, the preseason is meaningless for the Rams’ starters, seeing as most of them don’t take a single snap in these exhibition games.
But the start of the preseason does mark another step in the offseason as we move closer to Week 1. With that comes a new edition of power rankings, specifically from Touchdown Wire.
Doug Farrar ranked every team in the NFL heading into the official start of the preseason, and he put the Rams at No. 2. The only team ahead of Los Angeles is Buffalo, a popular Super Bowl pick in the NFL community.
The Rams did lose plenty of talent this offseason, including Von Miller, Darious Williams, Andrew Whitworth, Austin Corbett and Sebastian Joseph-Day. But they also brought in Allen Robinson, Bobby Wagner and reacquired Troy Hill from the Browns.
Still, it’s going to be a tough road to repeating in 2022.
But this is why it’s so hard to repeat as Super Bowl champions — players either retire after reaching the highest possible pinnacle (as left tackle Andrew Whitworth did), or they take the extra money frequently given to free agents with the Super Bowl glow. The Rams still have more than enough talent to get back to the biggest game, but the margin for error may be slimmer than it was in 2021.
What does favor the Rams a bit is the weakening NFC West. The 49ers don’t look as strong as they did last year, given the uncertainty surrounding Trey Lance. The Seahawks no longer have Russell Wilson (or Wagner) and are going through a rebuild. The Cardinals are, well, the Cardinals and don’t usually give the Rams much trouble.
So at least the path to a division title should be easier than it’s been in recent years. But if/when the Rams get to the playoffs, they’ll need to play their best football against quality opponents.