Rams tied for 12th-hardest strength of schedule in 2024

LA’s strength of schedule sits just outside the top 10; had 9th-hardest S.O.S. in 2023

During the last two seasons, the Los Angeles Rams had one of the hardest strengths of schedules in the NFL. In 2022, LA had the hardest schedule in the league and had the 9th-hardest just last season.

With the Rams returning to form with a 10-7 finish in 2023, bigger things are expected as the team has an S.O.S. that sits outside the top-10 heading into next season.

According to Kevin Patra of NFL.com, Los Angeles is tied for the 12th-hardest strength of schedule ahead of the 2024 campaign. They are tied with fellow NFC contenders like the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco along with the eternally damned New York Jets. Out of NFC conference squads, only the Green Bay Packers (T-4), New York Giants (T-6) and the Detroit Lions (11) will have harder schedules.

The S.O.S. should always be taken with a grain of salt. Usually it’s meaningless as schedules typically appear tough on paper long before the season begins. Sometimes, the “hardest” teams don’t end up meeting expectations which skews the true toughness of a particular team’s schedule. Who knows, maybe the 49ers will end up being worse than we expected. I sadly don’t see that happening but I would like someone in the universe to hear my plea.

The Rams will only have six playoff teams from last season on their schedule. Of course, scheduled teams like the Jets, Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears could bounce back from having losing campaigns a year ago. Also, all NFC West opponents seem to be reasonably formidable foes as the Arizona Cardinals — coming off a 4-13 season — have had a very strong offseason.

Ahead of the 2024 schedule release, nothing appears out of the ordinary for Sean McVay’s team. It will be business as usual for McVay and company as the Rams aim for their second consecutive playoff berth.

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images