3 reasons the Rams definitely return to the playoffs in 2019

The Los Angeles Rams saw their dream season come crashing down in a 26-13 defeat at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.

The 2017 regular season couldn’t have gone much better for the Los Angles Rams. They won the NFC West and their offense rose like a phoenix from the ashes of former coach Jeff Fisher. The start of 2018 was not as kind for coach Sean McVay and company as they lost their first playoff game as a group.

While it would be unwise to place a ton of weight on this narrative, there definitely were moments where the playoff inexperience did shine through. Two key plays came from Pharoh Cooper, who couldn’t hold onto the ball on special teams. The Rams made quite a few uncharacteristic mistakes and it wound up costing them dearly.

It was a bit of a shame that the offense couldn’t get too much going because it left the Rams defense on the field way too much. Defensive lineman Aaron Donald is one of the best players in the league and he had a few plays, but the unit was just exhausted in the second half.

Donald is one of the main cogs in a defense that could continue to get better next season. It doesn’t hurt that the core group now has a postseason game under their belt. There are quite a few reasons to feel pretty confident they can make it back to the postseason next year.