Rams Ranked by SI: '12 Teams That Can Actually Win the Super Bowl'

'It may be exciting to see how and why they are good in 2022, which, by necessity, will have to be different from how they succeeded in ’21.''

Given the fact that they've actually done it, there is nothing controversial about saying the Los Angeles Rams are a true contender.

So Sports Illustrated's Connor Orr, who just produced his annual list of a dozen teams "that can win the Super Bowl,'' isn't trying to be controversial. He's just trying to be accurate.

So the Rams make the cut.

How much of a guessing game is this? Orr admits that his list from going through this exercise last year failed to include the Bengals, who repped the AFC in the Super Bowl last year. And the season before? "I didn’t have the Buccaneers on my 2020 list, either,'' he writes.

A notable omission? Orr writes, "As a noted longtime Bill Belichick apologist who thinks the coach has a 3-D chess reason for everything, it absolutely pains me not to find a way to put the Patriots on this list, even though I am 100-percent certain they’ll reach the playoffs.''

And then he begins with his dozen (a few of which we will mention here), first with a New England Patriots nemesis ...

Buffalo Bills (see "A Super Roster'')

He writes, "I see no holes in this roster. ... Buffalo went into this offseason challenged to get a little better as a pass-rushing unit, a little tighter as a coverage unit and a little more versatile on offense. They added Von Miller (check), Kaiir Elam (check) and James Cook (check). They added O.J. Howard, which should allow them to present more 12-personnel looks after sitting in 11-personnel for 72 percent of their snaps last year. They will attack teams differently despite the fact that we still have not seen an effective strategy to stop Josh Allen in the first place.''

Dallas Cowboys (see "Training Camp is The Start'')

Orr writes, "The Cowboys have one of the five best quarterbacks in football; one of the game’s most sought-after play-callers; a defensive coordinator (Dan Quinn) who, a year into his head coaching rehab assignment, was one of the hottest names on the market; a game-changing, positionless pass rusher and a running game that should be solid enough to complement the times Dak Prescott isn’t hurling the ball to CeeDee Lamb.''

Los Angeles Rams (See "Built to Repeat'')

Orr writes, "The defending Super Bowl champions are such for a reason. We’re not breaking any new ground by telling you the Rams are going to be good. However, it may be exciting to see how and why they are good in 2022, which, by necessity, will have to be different from how they succeeded in ’21.''

Orr's list continues here, with fans of the Cowboys, Bills and Rams hoping he's right ... and fans of the Patriots hoping he's made another of his self-admitted goofs.