NFL 2011 Schedule: St. Louis Rams Are Back in Primetime—Twice

The Rams are back in primetime.

After closing the 2010 season with a nationally televised Sunday night game at Seattle, the St. Louis Rams will play in two Monday Night Football games in 2011. The NFL released the full 2011 schedule Tuesday night. The scheduled dates are contingent upon the NFL resolving its labor dispute with the NFL Players Association.

After opening the season at home against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 11—the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks—the Rams will travel to New York to face the Giants on Monday, Sept. 19. The Rams will play again on Monday night in Week 14 when they travel to Seattle on Dec. 12.

"We are excited about our 2011 schedule," Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said in a team statement. "It is a very challenging one that we all look forward to competing in. We encourage our fans to continue to make the Edward Jones Dome a tough environment for opposing teams. We are also excited for our team and our fans that we will be featured on national television this season."

The schedule is much more difficult in 2011 than it was in 2010 when the Rams faced teams from the AFC West and the NFC South.

This season the Rams will play the NFC East—Giants, Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins—and the AFC North—Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and defending AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

Also on the schedule are the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers.

It's the second straight year the Rams will open the season at home. They fell 17-13 to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1 last year.

The Week 2 trip to New York should have special significance for Spagnuolo. He was the Giants' defensive coordinator and helped them win Super Bowl XLII before coming to St. Louis.

The Rams are 27-27 all time on Monday Night Football and lead the all-time series with the Giants, 26-14. St. Louis hasn't played the Giants in New York since 2005.

The Rams will return home to play the Ravens in Week 3. The two teams have played four previous time in the regular season, with each team winning twice. St. Louis beat Baltimore 27-21 in last year's preseason finale.

The Rams will go for their second home win in as many seasons against Washington when the Redskins visit the Edward Jones Dome on Oct. 2. That game will be followed by a bye week and then two road games—at Green Bay and at Dallas.

The Packers beat the Steelers at Cowboys Stadium in February and will open the 2011 NFL season at home on Thursday, Sept. 8th against the previous year's Super Bowl champs—the New Orleans Saints.

The two cities hit hardest by the 9/11 attacks will be represented in a Sept. 11 opener when the Giants visit the Redskins in Washington.

The Rams and Packers have met 91 times in the series that dates back to 1937 and the Rams lead the all-time series 46-43-2. It will be St. Louis' first trip to Lambeau Field since 2006 when the Rams left with a 23-20 victory.

The Saints and Rams will play for the third straight year in Week 8. New Orleans beat the Rams last year at the Superdome and the year before in St. Louis.

The Rams finally open NFC West play in Week 9 when they travel to Arizona. That's followed by a Week 10 trip to Cleveland and an encounter with former offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, now the coach of the Browns.

The Rams return home for consecutive home games against NFC West foes in Weeks 11 and 12. They'll host the Seahawks on Nov. 20, and Arizona comes to town on Nov. 27.

St. Louis will then travel to San Francisco to face the 49ers in Week 13, followed by the Dec. 12 trip to Seattle for the Monday night contest.

A home game with Cincinnati and the trip to Pittsburgh will lead up to the season finale on New Year's Day at home against the 49ers.

St. Louis Rams 2011 Schedule:

Sept. 11 Philadelphia, noon

Sept. 19 at N.Y. Giants, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 25 Baltimore, 3:05 p.m.

Oct. 2 Washington, noon

Oct. 9 BYE

Oct. 16 at Green Bay, noon

Oct. 23 at Dallas, 3:15 p.m.

Oct. 30 New Orleans, noon

Nov. 6 at Arizona, 3:15 p.m.

Nov. 13 at Cleveland, noon

Nov. 20 Seattle, 3:05 p.m.

Nov. 27 Arizona, noon

Dec. 4 at San Francisco, 3:15 p.m.

Dec. 12 at Seattle, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 18 Cincinnati, noon

Dec. 24 at Pittsburgh, noon

Jan. 1 San Francisco, noon

This article can also be found at The Alton Telegraph.