On the verge of a new season, the Los Angeles Rams are poised to chase a championship in the present, but equally set up for long-term success in the future.
This has been described as the best roster they've assembled since returning to Los Angeles in 2016 – high praise for a franchise that's won four division titles, two NFC Championships, and a Super Bowl in those nine years.
Suddenly, they've got all the pieces in a restocked roster and a full complement of picks in 2026 (including the Atlanta Falcons first rounder), not to mention an abundance of cap space.
Time to merge that future into the present.
Calloused for Greatness
In the spring, it felt like the goal this season should be to compete for the one-seed, about the only thing Sean McVay’s Rams have yet to accomplish in his eight seasons.
Then Alaric Jackson was sidelined by a recurrence of blood clots. Then Matthew Stafford didn't practice for the entirety of training camp. While I'm thankful they're both ready for Week 1, it served as a reminder that for this group in particular, it's just about getting in. They weren't the top seed when they went to the Super Bowl in 2018, or 2021, or last year when they finished 13 yards shy of hosting the NFC Championship game again.
But if the right competitors are full-go in January, this group will be a tough out.
I heard the head coach say this refrain a few times recently and it does feel like the motto for this moment. "I don't know when (adversity) is going to occur," McVay voiced again on Monday. "But I do know it's going to occur at some point and our ability to be able to handle that has got to be a separator for us."
That sounds right.
We know the Rams must start faster. What they pulled off the last two seasons – rallying from three games below .500 to make the playoffs – was unprecedented for a reason. They best not tempt fate again in 2025. Nonetheless, what they learned from the depths of those bye week depths should serve them well as this next saga unravels.
Tussle with Texans
Of the other 31 teams, I'm not sure there's a more perfect matchup to begin. It's a winnable challenge that will vet each team's leading concern.
Houston head coach DeMeco Ryans summarized this week: "Both offensive lines are going to have to play well. Whoever wins that battle I think will ultimately decide the game."
Agreed.
The Texans boast an elite pass rush and secondary. We'll find out right away if Stafford is feeling well; if this retooled offensive line has the potential to be elite; if Davante Adams makes as much of a difference as we expect, and more.
"I'm playing like I always play. I have no issues with a physical game," Stafford said this week as he gets set to contend with a ferocious Texans defense that picked off the second-most passes (19) and also finished top five in sacks (49) last season. "Obviously, would love to stay as clean as possible, but I'm not thinking twice about that at all. I'm out there ready to go play."
It could very well be a low-scoring defensive slugfest. Houston's bugaboo in 2024 was its offensive line, and while they certainly churned it, it's yet to be seen whether they've improved it. Can the Rams devastating pass rush pick up where it left off in the playoffs? We discuss that in depth on Between the Horns.
Prove It With Improvement
In my 53-man roster reaction piece, I detailed why the Rams will have to be much better in 2025 to get equivalent (much less improved) results.
Some of the areas where I know they can progress year-over-year?
Better beginnings. And I don't just mean the first month of the season. The Rams were notoriously sluggish on offense last season, failing to score a touchdown in 13 first quarters and being shut out completely in 11 opening frames. That trend has to be flipped.
They can also finish better – games and drives. LA ranked 25th in red zone touchdown percentage in 2024. I think Adams and Terrance Ferguson are massive additions here. I'm also optimistic this is the year Puka Nacua unlocks the end zone. For all he's accomplished through two seasons, touchdowns have been tough to come by.
So much has been made about being more explosive, particularly in the run game. That talking point is entirely warranted. Some experts have argued that explosive runs could be the league-wide key to winning this season.
Unfortunately, a year ago, the Chiefs and Rams (two very successful teams!) tied for the fewest runs of 20-plus yards. Much of that got pinned on Kyren Williams – understandable since no NFL running back had a higher usage rate. But Williams isn't going to transform into Emmitt Smith at age 25. He can make incremental improvements, individually. But collectively, I know the Rams can recapture the back half of 2023.
We'll always love Cooper Kupp and thank goodness Demarcus Robinson spent two productive seasons with the Rams. Trust me when I tell you, though: Last year, the Rams just didn't stress defenses much.
If McVay and Mike LaFleur get to consistently present their starting offensive line + Stafford + variations of Nacua, Adams, Atwell + Higbee and/or Ferguson? Williams is going to feast on light boxes. And so will Blake Corum. And Jarquez Hunter.
When those elements click into place, the efficiency they've always been known for will start to translate into points again.
As a brief aside, I do have to acknowledge how spoiled we've been having elite blocking receivers, led by Kupp, for the better part of the last eight years. I believe in the culture and standard that he and receivers coach Eric Yarber have established; that should carry forward. Nonetheless, that dimension of Kupp's game combined with his quarterback's understanding of every play, changes the calculus for this Rams offense.
On the other side of the ball, it's no secret LA has to improve early down run efficiency, leading to more known passing situations. Poona Ford has entered the chat. Nate Landman, welcome to the fight.
You know what else shuts down an opposing ground game, though? A two-touchdown lead! It's time to get back to beating the brakes off foes. Anyone else a bit weary of being 20th in the league in scoring? I know a few folks in Woodland Hills who are.
Finally, to touch on special teams, the Rams have invested in and should be able to weaponize their kicking game. Joshua Karty made 17 field goals in a row to close his rookie season, highlighted by longs of 58 and 57 in Week 18. By the end of last season, Ethan Evans was punting at an All-Pro caliber, landing 55 percent of his punts inside the 20 (2nd best). He surrendered only two touchbacks all season and didn't have any blocked. With a deeper, healthier roster, all 11 in the kicking game should be ready for S-tier achievement.
Rams Research
A few final tidbits from the statistical preview of this Week 1 matchup…
First, I had to remind myself that of the Rams seven losses last year, Nacua didn't start or finish five of them.
Stafford went 0-4 against Ryans' 49ers defense from 2021-2022, and LA averaged a mere 14.3 points per game in that span. What's troubling is this Houston personnel could be better than those San Francisco defenses. Last year, the Texans surrendered the lowest completion percentage in the NFL (58.8), racked up the second-most interceptions (19), and generated the second-highest pressure rate. Gulp.
How important is the return of Coleman Shelton at center, not to mention having both starting tackles ready to rock for Week 1 (unlike in 2024)? Stafford absolutely shredded with clean pockets last year. But when things broke down, they cratered. His passer rating plummeted from 107.9 when clean to 55.0 when under duress (down in Anthony Richardson and Gardner Minshew territory).
I did a study this offseason about offensive line continuity for the Rams under McVay. One summation was that LA's made the postseason every year its lost less than 30 percent of offensive line starts to injury/suspension.
Per Next Gen Stats, C.J. Stroud had only nine passing touchdowns compared to 10 interceptions versus zone coverage in 2024. You know who loves to rush four, puncture pockets, and play zone behind, don't you? Chris Shula and the Rams.
Watching the West
It's entirely possible that all four teams in the NFC West improved significantly this offseason.
Pop quiz: Which was the most complete team in the division last year, measured by the gold standard in unit efficiency? The Arizona Cardinals, who ranked 12th in the NFL – 11th on offense, 14th on defense, 18th on special teams. After pouring resources into their defense, is 2025 the year for Kyler Murray and company to deliver? It's a fairly gentle start for Arizona – at New Orleans this Sunday and home to Carolina next week.
The Rams won't see the Cardinals until after Thanksgiving, which is odd. Then again, the only division foe LA will face in the first 10 weeks is San Francisco.
The Niners have a soft schedule. There's no other way to put it. Whereas the Rams get the Eagles, Ravens, and Lions as their like-place finisher games, the Niners pair with the Giants, Browns, and Bears. Therefore, the Week 1 game at Seattle has the potential to be one of the most important games of the season from the LA lens. If the revamped Seahawks can't knock off the Niners at Lumen Field, San Francisco has a real path to being 4-0 when they land at LAX for Thursday Night Football in Week 5.
And I don't know if you're interested in tracking the Falcons this season after trading for their first-round pick in 2026, but Atlanta hosts defending NFC South champion Tampa Bay on Sunday in the early window.
