What are the most intriguing matchups on the Rams schedule?

With the 2023 NFL schedule here, which games are you looking forward to the most?

Well Rams fans, let the season of projections and guessing begin, as the NFL finally released the full schedule for the 2023-2024 season for all 32 teams on Thursday afternoon. With a new schedule comes all of the hope in the world, endless possibilities and combinations of records that will keep fans busy all the way up until training camp.

All things considered, it is a very exciting time for football fans, as it simply means we are inching closer to kicking off another beloved NFL season. As a fan, I love to look at games on the schedule that I believe will be intriguing, as well as stretches’ in the year where I will try and predict the inevitable rough patch that nearly every team experiences. Withe that being said, here are, in my eyes, the most intriguing/interesting parts about the Rams newest schedule:

STARTING THE YEAR WITH TWO DIVISION GAMES

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It looks like the NFL schedule makers wanted to test the Rams early and often, handing them two NFC West foes in the first two games of the year. L.A. will kick-off their 2023-2024 campaign on the road against the Seattle Seahawks before heading back to SoFi to host the San Francisco 49ers for the home opener.

Opening the season with consecutive divisional games is not ideal, especially considering the importance of winning games against divisional opponents. If the Rams can find a way to split those games, they’ll start the year with some serious confidence.

SUPER BOWL REMATCH ON MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

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Right after two consecutive NFC West battles, the Rams will fly to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals for a Super Bowl 56 rematch. One of two primetime games for the Rams in the new season, L.A. will look to spoil the revenge that I am sure the Bengals will be seeking.

However, the Rams team will look a whole lot different than the Super Bowl winning roster just two seasons ago, so the revenge definitely will not be as sweet as it would’ve been if they got their rematch the year following. Nevertheless, the NFL found the rematch interesting enough to warrant a primetime slot early on in the season, giving the Rams three very tough games to open the season.

REIGNING NFC CHAMPS COME TO TOWN IN WEEK 5

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Man, the NFL is really putting the Rams through the ringer to start the season, as four of their first five opponents made the postseason last year, capped off with a showdown against the defending NFC Champions Philadelphia Eagles in week five.

The Eagles enter the season with extremely lofty expectations, almost the polar opposite compared to the expectations of the Rams. Nevertheless, hosting the Eagles will be a game that all of their NFC opponents will circle, looking to prove they can compete with the cream of the crop in the NFC.

OBJ REUNION IN BALTIMORE LATE IN THE SEASON

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For the first time since Super Bowl 56, Odell Beckham Jr. will play in an NFL football game, except it’ll be for the Baltimore Ravens. In week 14, the Rams will head out to Baltimore to face off against OBJ and the Ravens, as the star receiver will take on his former team with a new QB in superstar Lamar Jackson.

In my eyes, OBJ will forever be a Ram, simply because he became an integral part of the second Super Bowl title in franchise history, so this game is very intriguing on that part alone. Add in a superstar like Lamar Jackson, and all of a sudden we have one of the biggest test of the year for a young Rams defense.

NEW YEARS EVE IN THE BIG APPLE

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Rams players are probably very excited for the timing of this match-up, as they will head down to New York City to take on the Giants on New Years Eve in the penultimate game of the season.

The couple of time the Rams played the Giants in New York they’ve won big, defeating New York 38-11 in 2021 and demolishing them 51-17 in the big apple back in 2017. If history serves the Rams well, it would mean they will win big in this game. However, this is a new era for the Giants and, under coach Brian Daboll, the days of bad Giants football are numbered.