The Los Angeles Rams woke up just in time to pull off a win Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. Trailing by 10 with less than eight minutes remaining, quarterback Matthew Stafford led two drives that concluded with Kyren Williams touchdown runs. The second one came with 1:10 remaining and gave the Rams a 24-20 victory.
Even with Eagles injured wide receiver DeVonta Smith inactive and running back Saquon Barkley out for most of the game after suffering a hamstring injury in the first quarter, the Rams looked like they were sleepwalking for three-plus quarters. And maybe there was good reason for that: This was another of those dreaded 1 p.m. ET kickoffs for a West Coast team.
Much had been made about the Rams’ travel strategy before their long trip to Australia for the season opener. Comparatively speaking, Los Angeles-to-Philadelphia is a quick visit. Still, the 1 p.m. start is 10 a.m. for the body clock of Rams players.
There have now been four gams this season with West Coast teams playing 1 p.m. starts on the East Coast. The Rams are the only one to come away with the win. At MetLife Stadium Sunday, the Arizona Cardinals actually got off to a 14-3 start in the first quarter against the New York Giants, then got outscored 33-10 in the loss.
In Week 3, the Los Angeles Chargers lost on the road to the Buffalo Bills, and — in the most surprising of these cross-country games — the Seattle Seahawks were shocked by the Washington Commanders.
In 2018, the Cardinals, Chargers and San Francisco 49ers actually proposed a new NFL bylaw limiting the number of times a West Coast team could be scheduled to play a game earlier than 1:00 in the time zone of their home stadium. The proposal was voted down.
Over the years, the theory that West Coast teams are at a disadvantage in these games has mostly been debunked. In 2017, the year before the Cardinals, Chargers and 49ers made that bylaw proposal, they were a combined 5-10 in 1 p.m. East Coast games. More recently, however, the results have been mixed. Some of that has to do with the quality of the teams playing. It’s also worth noting that teams are much more aware of sleep science and biometrics that would make a difference.
Still, it’s a situation worth monitoring. There are nine more games on the 2026 schedule that fit the bill:
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