Every NFL team gets one bye week per season, and that was in Week 8 for the Los Angeles Rams who currently sit at 3-4.
The bye week could not have come at a better time as the Rams had lost three straight games after starting off 3-1, leaving them needing to go back to the drawing board.
Often times teams come out flat after their bye week, as after a week off they might not be as motivated. Rams head coach Jeff Fisher obviously wants to avoid that though, and believes his team will, via Myles Simmons of therams.com:
“There are statistics associated with the week off, penalties tend to increase a little bit after a week off. You have a tendency over the years, at times, to start a little slower,” Fisher said. “But I don’t anticipate that with our guys, they’ve played hard, they know how to practice. I’m kind of excited to get back on the field, it seems like we’ve been out of the Coliseum forever right now.”
The Rams are facing the defending NFC champions in Week 9, the Carolina Panthers. They have gotten off to a slow start this season though as they currently sit at 2-5. With the Panthers coming off a win over the Arizona Cardinals, Fisher is not overlooking them:
“It’s hard to look at the tape and see that they only won two games, but it’s a good football team,” Fisher said. “We get a sense for watching them match-up against Arizona, because we know Arizona very well, and it’s a dominating game. It was a great effort by them, and a much needed win for them.”
So far this seasons teams are 8-2 coming out of their bye week. Since 2003 teams are 262-213 after a week off.
The Rams have struggled a bit after bye weeks since 2003 though as they are 5-8-1 after a bye. Sunday will also be their first game at the Coliseum since Oct. 9.
