No one expects the Rams to win the Super Bowl next season. Few even think they’ll make the playoffs. Their roster is thin and lacking talent, looking nothing like the team that won it all two seasons ago.
On the flip side, no one could have predicted them to go 5-12 last season after the run they had in 2021. Sean McVay is probably telling his players how meaningless expectations are, but it’s hard to ignore the grim outlook for Los Angeles in 2023.
ESPN’s Mike Clay releases season predictions for each team every year and in his latest update, he doesn’t exactly give much hope for the Rams. He set the Rams’ win total projection at 6.2 games, which is the second-lowest in the NFL.
There’s only one game on the Rams’ schedule that Clay gives them a better-than-50% chance to win, and that’s their home matchup with the Washington Commanders. Clay gives the Rams a 53% chance to win that one. Their worst matchups, according to Clay, are against the Bengals and Cowboys; they have a 20% win probability in each.
The Commanders are the only team with a lower projected win total than the Rams in Clay’s projections, sitting at 5.8 games. The Texans are 30th, followed by the Raiders, Colts and Buccaneers.
It will take a lot in order for the Rams to make the playoffs and go on a run, but we can’t forget that they have Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp and Matthew Stafford. When healthy, Kupp and Donald are arguably the best players at their respective positions, while Stafford has the ability to be a top-10 quarterback.
Not to mention, the NFC is weaker and lacking premier quarterbacks, so the conference is open for the Rams – particularly when looking at the NFC West.
