The Los Angeles Rams will begin the 2025-26 season at home against the Houston Texans on Sunday, entering the ninth year of the Sean McVay era.
Los Angeles has had only one losing year under McVay, going 5-12 in the 2022-23 season, a year after winning the Super Bowl. The Rams have only missed two trips to the playoffs during the 8 years.
The Athletic conducted an anonymous poll from NFC 8 executives, ranking all teams in the conference ahead of the new season — the poll rankings are based on the median vote.
The Rams were the 5th team on the median, with an average vote of 6.6 in the anonymous poll. Here is what one anonymous executive had to say about Los Angeles.
“That defense is very impressive. They have a lot of youth. They get after guys. They challenge your offense. They force the issue. They’ll create turnovers. They have a good athletic front four. And then, unlike the [New York] Giants, they have complementary play from their secondary. Then you add Davante Adams to a quarterback like Matt Stafford, and a coordinator/head coach that they have (Sean McVay), with two really good running backs, and that makes it very interesting.”
Bright Spots For The Rams
GettyLos Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua.
The Los Angeles Rams are looking to make it back into the playoffs after losing in the NFC Divisional Round against the future Super Bowl Champions.
A young defense, led by Defensive Rookie of the Year winner Jared Verse, looks to continue to dominate opposing offensive lines. The main 4 defensive linemen (Braden Fiske, Kobie Turner, Byron Young, Verse) together combined for 28.5 sacks last season. All four of those D-linemen are still on their rookie contracts.
LA added wide receiver Davante Adams to help with the departure of Cooper Kupp to a division rival.
The Rams extended running back Kyren Williams and have an interesting rookie running back in Jarquez Hunter.
Los Angeles is considered a Super Bowl contender this season, even with the questions surrounding the starting quarterback.
All Eyes On Matthew Stafford
GettyLos Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford
What the season relies on for the Los Angeles Rams is the health of Matthew Stafford. The quarterback missed most of training camp with a back issue and has raised concerns for the 37-year-old player.
Stafford has been training for the last few weeks (full-padded practice) and is expected to play in the season opener.
Here is what one anonymous exec had to say about Stafford’s injury when polling the NFC teams.
“I trust Stafford’s back more than (Brandon) Aiyuk’s knee.”
Aiyuk and the San Francisco 49ers have been placed as the 7th-best team in the median poll. With recent news that running back Christian McCaffrey is a limited participant in practice, a few days before the start of the season, this could be troubling news for the 49ers.
This gives the Rams some leeway next season to help start the season strong and possibly win the division if things don’t go sideways with Stafford’s back.
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