Rams Have Significant Advantage in Week 1 vs. Texans

In past years, when the NFL had four preseason games, teams would be up to speed, prepared for the trials of the regular season as squads began to take shape and gain confidence early in the year. Rule changes have shortened the preseason to three games with an off week between the summer finale and the regular season.

This has forced teams like the Los Angeles Rams and Houston Texans to take different approaches. The former has seemingly gotten itself prepared for its heavyweight matchup against Houston, which bolsters a top defense. However, this specific area may lack continuity for the Texans, leading to a large advantage for the Rams.

Rams defensive line vs. Texans offensive line is a significant mismatch

Teams don't start as cleanly as they would in years past. It takes a good three to four games for them to gain momentum and find out what type of team they are. It is not ideal, and certainly not for the Texans offensive line, who went through a rebuild this offseason with plenty of new faces.

These new faces aren't big names; they won't blow people away, and they aren't considered high-end talents to begin with. With seemingly a makeshift offensive line, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud may not be in a comfortable position this year; it likely won't be as such in his first game against Los Angeles's defensive front.