Aussie, Aussie, Aussie … Home, Road, Road
After the Rams get back from Australia in Week 1, the set up for the rest of September is critical.
Mercifully, this is as close to ideal as they could have requested.
First, a bonus day to recuperate, thanks to Week 2 versus the Giants falling on Monday Night Football. In fact, the Rams will be home from Oz on Friday evening, some 48 hours before the Giants even kick off Week 1 versus Dallas.
Next, the first of three road back-to-backs, but also one of the shortest road trips on the schedule in Week 3, and it's Sunday Night Football in Denver.
Lastly, at Philadelphia in the early window in Week 4. Am I a bit surprised that Rams-Eagles is a 10 a.m. PT kickoff for the second year in a row? Sure. Would I prefer that trip in the daylight of early fall to winter in prime time? Absolutely.
Here's another way of framing the post-Australia travel: The Rams must fly past the Mountain Time Zone just once (Philadelphia) in Weeks 2 through 8.
Philadelphia Freedom
Indeed, the Rams are going back to Philadelphia in early October and playing the Eagles for the fifth time in 36 months. That's a lot!
Since the question always comes up (we've confronted it with the Packers and Saints in recent seasons), let's spell out exactly why this has become such a repetitive rivalry of late. Here's the recent series history with the Eagles, along with an explanation of why that matchup occurred:
2026 – Pure schedule rotation. The NFC West faces the NFC East every three seasons, and every six years, the Rams travel to Philadelphia by NFL schedule architecture (as they did most recently during the pandemic campaign of 2020).
2025 – Like-place-finisher formula. The Rams and Eagles both won their division the prior year.
2024 Playoffs – Self-explanatory.
2024 - Like-place-finisher formula. The Rams and Eagles both finished runner-up the prior year.
2023 - Schedule rotation. The NFC West crossed over with the NFC East, and every six years, the Rams host the Eagles by NFL schedule format.
Trade deadline watch
The 2026 NFL trade deadline is later this fall, scheduled for Tuesday, November 17, 2026 (the Tuesday following Week 10 of the regular season).
So it's important to consider the Rams schedule – and potential record – in front of this threshold.
In 2023 and 2024, the Rams had to rally from seemingly insurmountable early-season deficits to make the playoffs. Given the stage of their roster construction, there wasn't much incentive to make a move either fall.
In 2025, the Rams absolutely could have been buyers at 6-2, with a strong belief they should have been 8-0. They stood pat, merely adding a bit of corner depth with Roger McCreary.
In 2026, the Rams will be 10 games in, coming back from road trips to Washington and Arizona, going into their bye, when the deadline hits. Can they earn a record of 6-4 or 7-3 or even better?
If so, perhaps they fortify what's regarded as the most complete roster in the NFL already.