The New England Patriots have plenty of reasons to respect the Los Angeles Rams as Super Bowl contenders heading into the 2026 NFL season, but history suggests that there is little reason for the Mike Vrabel-led team to fear their status as overwhelming Super Bowl favorites.
According to Yahoo Sports’ Ben Fawkes (via Fox Sports), over the past 30 years, the preseason Super Bowl favorite has entered the season with +500 or shorter odds 20 times and have gone 0-for-20 in winning it all.
The Rams enter the season with enormous expectations after trading for AP Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett and former All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie. They also signed former three-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald out of retirement this
offseason, but their status as Las Vegas’ top dog in the Super Bowl race comes as a double-edged sword.
For the Patriots, they’ll need to respect the Rams and come ready to play in the event that the two teams meet in the Super Bowl at the end of the season. However, they should not be intimidated by the odds.
Los Angeles may be considered the team to beat, but being the favorite does not make a championship inevitable.
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Why Patriots and rest of NFL should not fear juggernaut Rams in 2026
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