Coming off a win over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football, the Los Angeles Rams are sitting in a good spot as they go into their mini-bye at 4-1.
Additionally, the Rams have the easy past of their schedule coming up as they will play the New York Giants, Detroit Lions and Houston Texans the next three weeks, three teams that are a combined 2-13 through five weeks.
If all goes according to plan then the Rams will sit at 7-1 around the midway point of the season, which is huge considering how tough it will be to win the NFC West.
Nothing is given in the NFL though so Sean McVay emphasized the need to not take opponents lightly because of their record, via Cameron DaSilva of USA Today:
“Even though the records are what they are, there’s a reason why every single week there are those one or two results that make you say, ‘I cannot believe that happened.’ It’s why people lose a lot of money betting on NFL games week in and week out,” he said Friday. “You’ve got to show up. I say this to the team all the time, the thing that’s so amazing about the NFL is the best team doesn’t always win, but the team that plays the best in the three-hour span that you get is who wins the game. And there’s a lot of things that factor into who wins and losses and what happens in that window of time. But for us, we want to always be inside out. I said that a couple of weeks ago, but it is true. We’ve got to be inside out. We focus on our process, our preparation, and let’s not lose sight on — I don’t care what the Giants’ record is. They’re pretty competitive. They’re coming off of a really big-time win against an excellent football team last weekend. We’ll see what they do this weekend, but there’s no letdowns in this league. And if you think there are, then you get humbled real quickly and that’s just the truth.”
McVay is right that these teams can’t be taken lightly, and it starts with the Giants, who came to SoFi Stadium last season and gave the Rams a tough game.
The Rams also lost to the winless New York Jets last season, so if anyone knows how seriously teams have to be taken in this league regardless of record, it’s them.
This Rams team has looked more focused than ever though, so look for them to come out of the mini-bye looking strong to continue their momentum.
