The last time an NFL team repeated as Super Bowl champions, Matthew Stafford hadn’t even been drafted yet. Aaron Donald was only 13 years old and Sean McVay was a senior in high school.
The New England Patriots were the last team to go back-to-back, doing so in the 2003 and 2004 seasons. The Los Angeles Rams will attempt to be the ninth team to pull it off this season, but it’ll be a real challenge – even for this star-studded team.
With Week 1 upon us, experts are making their picks for division winners and Super Bowl predictions, and the Rams are a popular pick for the former. Even when it comes to picking the eventual league champ, Los Angeles is getting some love.
USA TODAY Sports’ panel of experts submitted their picks for the season and six of seven are taking the Rams to win the NFC West. Lorenzo Reyes, who took the 49ers to win the division, also had the Rams winning the top wild-card berth.
As far as playoff picks go, two experts have the Rams winning the NFC and going on to win the Super Bowl. Tyler Dragon has them beating the Chiefs, and Mike Jones picked them to take down the Bills in Super Bowl LV.
No one picked a Rams player to win league MVP, but Parker Gabriel took Cooper Kupp to win Offensive Player of the Year and Dragon has Donald winning the defensive award.
It’s hard not to like the Rams’ chances this year, especially in a weaker NFC West than usual, and a conference that lost a lot of talent. But come playoff time, it’s all about winning when it matters most.
