In 2019, the Rams were an impressive 10-5-1 against the spread but finished third in the NFC West with a 9-7 record. In the season after their first Super Bowl appearance in 17 years, they could not keep their two-year postseason streak going.
Since 1987, the Rams have gone to the playoffs in three straight years just once (1999 to 2001). The franchise has only one Super Bowl victory all-time, and that came when the team was in St. Louis with Mike Martz, Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, and Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles is looking to have potential Hall of Famers lead its squad in 2020 after losing a bunch of Pro Bowlers. Head coach Sean McVay may end up having a bust in Canton, Ohio. He is already off to a tremendous start in the NFL and even was close to a Super Bowl victory after a 13-3 season in 2018. He and quarterback Jared Goff have a fantastic synergy, as they allow for a lot of play-action success.
In 2020, McVay and Goff started 2-0 for the third consecutive season. In Week 2, the Rams ended their six-game losing streak to the Philadelphia Eagles. They then made a furious comeback in Week 3 but lost against the Buffalo Bills. The Rams dropped their first game in the eastern time zone since 2016.
Los Angeles has a couple of games against the lesser NFC East teams, the New York Giants and the Washington Football Team, so the Rams could be looking at a 4-1 record before an important Sunday Night Football contest at San Francisco.
Read Also: Seattle Seahawks Predictions and Odds
2020 Rams Draft Picks
Cam Akers, RB (Florida State)
Van Jefferson Jr., WR (Florida)
Terrell Lewis, LB (Alabama)
Terrell Burgess, S (Utah)
Brycen Hopkins, TE (Purdue)
Jordan Fuller, S (Ohio State)
Clay Johnston, LB (Baylor) – released; signed to Carolina Panthers practice squad
Sam Sloman, K (Miami OH)
Tremayne Anchrum, G (Clemson)
Notable Other New Faces for the Rams
A’Shawn Robinson, DT
Leonard Floyd, LB
Justin Hollins, LB
Notable Rams in New Places
Todd Gurley, RB – Atlanta Falcons
John Kelly, RB – Cleveland Browns
Brandin Cooks, WR – Houston Texans
Mike Thomas, WR – Cincinnati Bengals
JoJo Natson, WR – Cleveland Browns
Dante Fowler, DE – Atlanta Falcons
Clay Matthews, LB – released
Cory Littleton, LB – Las Vegas Raiders
Nickell Robey-Coleman, CB – Philadelphia Eagles
Adonis Alexander, CB – released
Eric Weddle, S – retired
Greg Zuerlein, K – Dallas Cowboys
Notable Rams on the Injury Report
Cam Akers, RB – out for Week 4 with a ribs injury; expected to return for Week 5
Joe Noteboom, OG – placed on injured reserve with a calf injury; expected to return for Week 6
A’Shawn Robinson, DT – placed on the Injured Reserve/Non-Football Injury list with a heart condition
Terrell Lewis, LB – placed on Non-Football Football Injury list with a knee injury; out for Week 4
Justin Lawler, LB – placed on injured reserve with a foot injury
Travin Howard, LB – placed on injured reserve with a knee injury
Jordan Fuller, SS – questionable for Week 4 with a shoulder injury
Rams Who Have Opted Out of 2020 NFL Season
Chandler Brewer, OT
Rams Offense Predictions
The Rams offense is off to a strong start, as Jared Goff, running back Darrell Henderson Jr. and wide receiver Cooper Kupp, leads the league’s seventh-highest scoring offense through three games.
They also have the produced the third-most yards. Offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell excels in his first year in the position with the Rams after being the offensive coordinator for the Washington Football Team last year.
Rams Running Backs: Can Darryl Henderson Jr. Finish the Season as a Top-20 Running Back?
Darryl Henderson Jr. has risen to the top of the running back depth chart in Los Angeles. Although Malcolm Brown leads the team with 36 carries, Henderson leads the running backs with 5.7 yards per carry in his second year in the league. With a touchdown in both Weeks 2 and 3, Henderson has matched Browns for the team lead with two rushing touchdowns.
With rookie Cam Akers out for Week 3, the Rams elected to depend on Henderson for a game-high 20 carries and 114 rushing yards, which were both career-highs for him in an NFL game. After not getting into the end zone during his rookie year, Henderson is on pace for double-digit touchdowns in 2020.
Rams Wide Receivers: Will Cooper Kupp Lead the Team in Receiving for the Second Consecutive Year or Will Robert Woods Do So for the Second Time in Three Years?
In mid-September, the Rams secured their two best wide receivers with contract extensions. Cooper Kupp received a three-year extension for as much as $48 million.
Robert Woods and the Rams agreed upon a four-year extension worth up to $68 million. Both Kupp and Woods scored in Week 3’s loss, and those were the first receiving touchdowns by wide receivers for the 2020 Rams.
Rams Tight Ends: Can Tyler Higbee Finish 2020 as a Top-10 Tight End?
Tyler Higbee has been arguably Los Angeles’ most valuable pass-catcher through three games in 2020. The fifth-year tight end has 10 catches for 134 yards and a team-leading three receiving touchdowns. Those three touchdowns match his career-high.
Thus far, Higbee has been dominating this season, as he has 13.4 yards per touch and 12.2 yards per target. The 2016 fourth-rounder, who turns 28 years old on January 1, is on pace for a career year.
Read Also: San Francisco 49ers Predictions and Odds
Rams Defense Predictions
Defensive tackle Aaron Donald is a dominant pass rusher, but he is hoping that he does not continue to get double-teamed throughout the rest of the prime of his career.
The No. 13 overall pick from the 2014 NFL Draft is a six-time Pro Bowler and five-time First-Team All-Pro selection. He also has won two Defensive Player of the Year Awards. In 2018 and 2019, he led the NFL in tackles for loss.
Even Donald’s dominating performance, the Rams have not had a top-10 defense in terms of scoring since 2001. Linebackers Clay Matthews and Cory Littleton and defensive end Dante Fowler are all with different teams in 2020.
Meanwhile, safety Eric Weddle has retired and cornerback Aqib Talib, whom the Rams traded to Miami at the end of October 2019, retired before the 2020 season.
On the same day that Talib announced his retirement, the Rams made Jalen Ramsey the highest-paid cornerback in the league. Ramsey’s five-year contraction extension is worth $105 million. He has yet to intercept a pass in 2020 but has defended two passes and made eight tackles thus far this season.
Read Also: Arizona Cardinals Predictions and Odds
Rams Special Teams Predictions
Former Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein is now with the Dallas Cowboys while Los Angeles has elected to go with 23-year-old rookie Sam Sloman. The Rams selected Sloman with their second-to-last pick of the 2020 draft. He has made four of his six field goals and nine of his 10 extra points in 2020.
The Miami of Ohio product won the Rams kicking job and will hope to prove himself throughout the rest of the season. During his four years in college, he made 49 of his 62 field-goal attempts and 112 of his 115 extra-point attempts.
Sloman’s field goal percentage of 86.7 percent in 2019 led the Mid-American Conference. If he can produce a similar field goal percentage in 2020, the Rams will be pleased.
Rams Head Coach Predictions
Head coach Sean McVay enters his fourth season as the Rams’ head coach after spending longer as an assistant coach with the Washington Football Team. McVay has shown off his ability to be an offensive mastermind in Los Angeles after being an offensive assistant, tight ends coach, and offensive coordinator in Washington.
In McVay’s first season with the Rams (2017), he won the NFC Coach of the Year Award in addition to the NFC West division. Then in 2018, McVay made it back-to-back divisional crowns before falling in the Super Bowl. His career head coaching record in the NFL was 33-15, heading into 2020, and if he keeps up this pace, he could be one of the best head coaches in league history.
Rams Predictions for Week 4
The 2-1 Rams were originally a nine-point favorite against the 0-3 Giants, and the line has ballooned to 13.5 points. New York has yet to score 17 points in a game this season, as quarterback Daniel Jones looks to find some way to get wide receiver Golden Tate and tight end Evan Engram into the end zone.
Meanwhile, wide receiver Darius Slayton, who has the team’s two receiving touchdowns in 2020, is the only Giant with 100 receiving yards this season. New York is also trying to figure out how running backs Devonta Freeman and Dion Lewis can replace Saquon Barkley, who is out for the season. There is some value with betting the Rams in Week 4.
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Rams Predictions for 2020 Season
The Rams’ 2020 over/under was 8.5 wins entering this year, which means that Los Angeles was underrated before the beginning of the season. Jared Goff, Sean McVay, and the Rams have averaged 11 wins per season in their first three years together. Unfortunately, there is not as much value concerning the Rams’ +1200 Super Bowl futures bet, which is the seventh-highest odds in the NFL.
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