What is next for Rams out of their bye week?

There’s no beating around the bush: the Los Angeles Rams are 1-4 and their hopes for the postseason are on life support.

The Rams are mostly in their hole because of a rash of early season injuries, so as Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, and others return to health there is at least some level of possibility that LA can turn things around and improve their standing quickly. Sean McVay’s squad did start 3-6 last year before making an improbable run to the playoffs—so such a turnaround is not unprecedented.

If the Rams are going to make things interesting this year, they’ll need to fare much better over the next month than they did in their first five weeks. These are the teams LA will face coming out of their Week 6 bye:

Week 7: vs Las Vegas Raiders

Perhaps there’s no bigger positive for the Rams’ upcoming schedule than the fact three of the next four games are home at SoFi Stadium. Inversely, three of LA’s first four games were on the road, and their lone home game was against the San Francisco 49ers—a team notorious for how well they pack SoFi.

Another positive is facing the Raiders, who play hard but are just short on talent. Las Vegas also has a problem at the most important position: quarterback.

The Raiders declared second-year signal caller Aidan O’Connell as their starter for this weekend’s upcoming matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Las Vegas is 2-3 and the Steelers are 3-2, though Pittsburgh won their opening three games before sliding of late.

One other key element of this matchup is the presence of rookie TE Brock Bowers, who was closely linked to the Rams leading up to draft day. He’s already posted two games where he had more than 95 receiving yards. There are three games in which he’s been targeted at least 8 times. In his most recent game against the Denver Broncos, Bowers hauled in eight of 12 targets for 97 yards and a touchdown.

The Rams are devoid of playmakers on offense, and in this game they’ll likely be wondering what could have been with Bowers on the opposing sideline.

Week 8: vs Minnesota Vikings

But just as it’s been for the Rams all season, any good news is caveated by bad news.

While three of four games at home and the Raiders are positive, the tougher part is that the Vikings are on deck. Minnesota is one of two remaining unbeaten teams along with the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s not just that the Vikings have a weak schedule either, they’ve taken down the likes of the 49ers, Houston Texans, Green Bay Packers, and New York Jets.

Brian Flores’ defense will pose a unique matchup for McVay, and we’ve seen Flores have great success against the Shanahan-McVay offensive scheme. Can McVay prove to be the exception to the rule, similarly to how his offense performed uniquely well last year against Mike McDonald’s defense.

Week 9: at Seattle Seahawks

I could look silly writing this prior to the Seahawks taking on the 49ers on Thursday Night Fooball, but there might not be a quarterback playing better than Seattle’s Geno Smith. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb was a high risk, high reward hiring by McDonald and the Seahawks this offseason, but he is maximizing Smith and helping Seattle reach a NFC West leading 3-2 record. Expecting Seattle to finish the season atop the NFC West might be another story, but counting out a team with this much talent just isn’t wise.

Division wins are always important, at even if LA is out of the hunt at this point, not much would feel better than playing spoiler to a rival.

Week 10: vs Miami Dolphins

Miami is one of the most hot and cold teams in the NFL, though by Week 10 they could return to health with Tua Tagovailoa back under center. With Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle the Dolphins are always dangerous and can put on points in a hurry. This would also make for the first head coaching matchup between Sean McVay and Mike McDaniel, two familiar faces who have ties to the famous Mike Shanahan staff in Washington.

Another key part of this game with be Jalen Ramsey’s return to Los Angeles. The Rams traded Ramsey to the Dolphins in exchange for a third round pick and Hunter Long before the 2021 season, though he’s still one of the league’s premier corners. Is there any bad blood remaining from Ramsey’s days in LA, or will this be a heartfelt reunion for the Super Bowl LVI champion?