It's not a Patriots conspiracy: Rams irritated New England will have game in L.A. before playing them
Cue the New England Patriots conspiracy theorists.
No matter what happens regarding the Patriots, if it’s a bit unusual it will set off fans whose blind hate for the Patriots leads them down rabbit holes. It wouldn’t be hard to find someone who thinks the Houston Texans being tabbed as the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 1 opponent is part of the NFL protecting the Tom Brady-less Patriots.
Never mind that most of the theories about the Patriots don’t make a lot of sense. But there is a scheduling issue for a Los Angeles Rams-Patriots game that gives New England a rare edge as a road team.
Patriots will be in L.A. before Rams
When the NFL schedule was released last week, one of the quirks was that the Patriots will play two games in a five-day stretch at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The Patriots will play the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, Dec. 6 and then against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday, Dec. 10. The NFL did a similar thing with the San Francisco 49ers, scheduling them for two straight games at MetLife Stadium for games against the New York Giants and New York Jets, presumably to cut down on travel.
In the Patriots’ case, they’re going to be in Los Angeles before the Rams that Sunday, and the Rams are a little peeved by that according to Greg Bedard of Boston Sports Journal. The Rams play at the Arizona Cardinals in a 1:05 p.m. Pacific time kickoff.
Heard the Rams are a little irritated they're away before the Thursday night game vs. Patriots, while New England plays in the Rams' stadium. Patriots will be in their hotel by 6 PT. Rams will be landing around that time. pic.twitter.com/4aTrsznBEW
— Greg A. Bedard (@GregABedard) May 8, 2020
Since this has to do with the Patriots, surely it won’t blown out of proportion.
Patriots will play two straight in Los Angeles
It’s not like the Patriots are getting an extra home game, though it won’t be quite the normal grind of a road game flying all the way across the country.
Thursday games are tough to prepare for and the home team has a big edge. The road team has to travel on Wednesday while their opponent is relaxing and finishing up its preparation. It’s not an insurmountable advantage for the home team, but it is an edge. Especially if the road team had to fly about five hours. the Patriots will just stay in Los Angeles between games.
The NFL often tries to tweak the schedule to make it easier for teams that have unusual travel situations, such as offering a bye week after a game in London. But everyone is always on edge when it has to do with the Patriots, and the Rams are no different.
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