Rams face eight-game gauntlet that will determine playoff worthiness
ST. LOUIS -- Four weeks are in the books, and the middle half of the Rams' schedule doesn't look any easier than it did at the start of the season.
In fact, it might even be tougher considering St. Louis (1-2) will have to navigate the eight-game stretch without its starting quarterback, Sam Bradford, and one of its defensive captains, although defensive end Chris Long could return before a game against winless and newly coachless Oakland on Nov. 30. Whether the Rams' playoff hopes are still alive at that point could be another matter.
The gauntlet includes seven games against 2014 playoff teams, with four of those coming against teams that reached the conference championship. Both Super Bowl participants -- Denver and Seattle -- will visit the Edward Jones Dome and San Francisco faces the Rams twice in a span of four weeks.
St. Louis hits the road for every other game until Thanksgiving to face three more teams that either made the playoffs or reached 10 wins, starting with 3-1 Philadelphia this weekend. Arizona is the lone opponent left out of the postseason last January, and the undefeated Cardinals are leading the NFC West thanks to home wins against San Diego and San Francisco to go along with a victory over Eli Manning and the Giants in New York.
Just in case last season's success wasn't convincing enough, none of the seven teams has a losing record and five of them have one loss or fewer. In fact, take away the games they've played against each other, and the Rams' next seven opponents have a combined record of 11-2.
That makes it tough to decide which game might be the "most winnable," especially after the Kansas City Chiefs obliterated New England, 41-14, at Arrowhead on Monday night. It's hard to believe that's the same Chiefs team that lost 26-10 in its home opener against Tennessee, a team that hasn't been within 16 points during a three-game losing streak.
Maybe San Diego could be considered beatable, although the Rams might already be in a position where losing to get a higher draft pick would be the better idea by the time they make that trip in late November. When a legitimate case can be made that a home game against San Francisco next Sunday represents the easiest game on the schedule for eight weeks, that's not a good sign.
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Of course, these concerns shouldn't worry the team and coaches much for now. After all, their hands will be full trying to slow down the explosive attack of Philadelphia, which has scored more points through four games than any team except Atlanta and Indianapolis.
"You're talking about a team that's got five returns for touchdowns already," coach Jeff Fisher told reporters Wednesday. "They played the 49ers well and we've got our hands full defensively and a great group of special teams players and their defense is well-coached."
He followed those statements with the news that Austin Davis will be the starting quarterback going forward, which should be a positive for an offense that has shown considerable improvement each week. Their only win came by two points in Week 2 against a floundering Tampa Bay team and Dallas doesn't exactly have the league's strongest defense, but 31 points in that loss gives some reason for hope with a young quarterback still growing in his new role.
Of course, his progress will need to be fast-tracked now along with the rest of the team to keep up with an entirely different level of competition. While St. Louis' first three opponents all rank in the bottom of the league in terms of total yards allowed, five of the next seven teams rank in the top 11.
The Rams might not be looking ahead, but it's worth wondering what they might need to accomplish during this nightmarish stretch to have a chance at making the playoffs, which seemed like a long shot even before they started the season 1-2. A 4-1 finish is conceivable, if improbable, with games against Oakland, Washington, Arizona and New York before a trip to Seattle to end the season.
But even if that happens, St. Louis needs to go 3-5 just to get to .500, which has occasionally been good enough for the postseason. Then again, the NFC West champion is all but guaranteed to have at least 10 wins, and 9-7 hasn't been good enough for an NFC wild card since 2006.
That leaves Fisher's team in need of five wins over the next eight games, a feat that would require a spectacular effort from the majority of teams in the league. If the Rams end up playing in January, no one will be able to say they didn't earn it.
You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter at @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.
