I not only think the best division in the NFL is the National Football Conference West, but I also think they have the two best teams in football. Two of the past three NFC Champions are out of the NFC West, albeit they both lost their bid for a Super Bowl title when the New England Patriots downed the Los Angeles Rams three years ago, and the Kansas City Chiefs outscored the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV.
This week, we are going to get to see just how good the Rams and 49ers are, and I am betting they both win their home games. The Rams welcome the defending Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers into SoFi Stadium, the site where both these teams would like to be playing when Los Angeles hosts Super Bowl LVI on February 13, 2022.
The Buccaneers have the championship ring, and the Rams are just that much hungrier to get it. The edge that comes from defeat and the challenges of being the champion are in play here, and both favor the home team.
Why are the Rams better than they were three years ago when they failed to score a touchdown in their Super Bowl Loss to Tom Brady and company?
This year, they made a bold switch at quarterback that could have the same effect that adding Peyton Manning to the Denver Broncos or Tom Brady to the Buccaneers generated. Both those quarterbacks won Super Bowls with their new team, but both Manning and Brady brought a winning pedigree from their previous NFL experience.
Manning had a Super Bowl ring and the best regular season record in football as a member of the Indianapolis Colts, then guided the Broncos to a pair of Super Bowls and a career crowning win in Super Bowl 50 over the Carolina Panthers. Brady had six Super Bowl wins with the New England Patriots, and won his seventh title last season with his new team.