From 2004 to 2016, the Rams didn’t have a single season with a winning record. They finished 8-8 twice in that span and even made the playoffs in 2004, but before Sean McVay arrived, their last winning season was in 2003 when they went 12-4.
Thankfully, all of that has changed with the hiring of McVay.
In his four years as the team’s head coach, the Rams haven’t finished worse than 9-7, have a combined record of 43-21 in the regular season and have made the playoffs three times. It’s been a remarkable start to his head-coaching tenure, to say the least.
A good way to put the Rams’ success into perspective is looking at this list from Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Stats. He ranked every team in the NFL based on how many weeks they’ve had with a winning record since the end of the 2016 season. The Rams are No. 2 with 62 such weeks, one behind the Chiefs and eight ahead of the third-ranked Saints.
weeks with a winning record since 2016
63 KC
62 LAR
–
54 NO
53 BAL
51 SEA
49 PIT
–
45 BUF
44 GB, NE
42 TEN
40 MIN
–
32 CAR
–
27 CHI, IND
25 DAL
24 PHI
23 MIA, HOU
19 TB, JAX, LVR
18 SF
17 LAC
15 DET
14 CLE, ATL
13 ARI
12 WAS
–
9 CIN
8 DEN
–
2 NYJ
0 NYG 😂😂— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) June 22, 2021
Sharp’s tweet says “since 2016,” but considering the Giants went 11-5 that year and have zero weeks with a winning record on the list, it’s clear Sharp included only 2017-2020.
The Seahawks have been the second-best team in the division with 51 weeks above .500, while the 49ers have had 18 such weeks. Arizona ranks last in the NFC West with only 13 weeks above .500.
It’s a good reminder of just how quickly McVay turned the Rams around after inheriting a team that had very little success in the past decade.
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