The good news and good feelings keep rolling into the LA Rams’ camp on the eve of the new NFL season. After a summer of rumors, one of the all-time great NFL defenders, Aaron Donald, has decided to come out of retirement to rejoin the franchise. Donald is expected to earn $20 million, which could rise to $30 million with bonuses. It means that the Rams boast the current NFL MVP in Matthew Stafford and the current Defensive Player of the Year in Myles Garrett. Donald’s return feels like the cherry on top of an incredible offseason.
In truth, the return of the former three-time DPOY and 10-time Pro Bowler did not move the NFL betting markets a huge amount. The Rams were clear Super Bowl favorites before the announcement, and nothing has really changed all that much. It was the trade for Garrett earlier in the offseason that really moved the dial.
Can anyone stop them? Well, the short answer is yes, of course. The list of favorites for a Super Bowl at the start of the season that failed to go all the way is a lot longer than those who ended up with rings. In fact, since 1977, the preseason Super Bowl favorite has had something in the region of a 12% success rate. It’s a pretty brutal record when you think about it.
The Rams have everything going for them
That said, it would be foolish to dismiss the Rams just because they have been tagged as favorites. That’s not the way it works. And just because sportsbooks have gotten it wrong in the past does not mean they are wrong this time. This looks like a well-balanced team, one for whom the experience of the postseason earlier this year, including the disappointment of losing the NFC Championship Game to the Seahawks, should help them.
For fans, the interesting thing is that we could learn a lot about the Rams pretty quickly. The early part of the season looks like quite the test. The Rams are favored in the NFL Week 1 betting lines to get the win over the 49ers in Australia, but they will also have tests against the Broncos, Bills and Eagles within the first five games. Only the home game against the Giants in Week 2 looks straightforward.
It's not absolutely crucial that the Rams hit the ground running in these games, as plenty of championship-caliber teams have taken a bit of time to find their groove in the past, but it does serve to give us some indication of how they can match up. Indeed, playing four postseason-level teams – the 49ers, Eagles, Bills and Broncos – in the first five weeks is as tough as it gets.
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A tough-as-it-gets NFC West
We are sure that Sean McVay also has one eye on the two games with the Seattle Seahawks within the final 3 games of the schedule. They could go a long way to deciding the NFC West, about which the Broncos could also have a say. That division looks really tough, so if McVay is hoping for his team to be battle-tested en route to the postseason, he’s got his wish.
For now, all of this is speculative. We saw last season, with two long shots, the Seahawks and Patriots, making the Super Bowl, that predictions can be way off the mark. But the Rams are in a very, very good place right now. Nobody doubts that this stacked roster doesn’t deserve to be the Super Bowl favorite. Delivering on that promise is another matter.
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