It wasn’t long ago that the Los Angeles Rams looked like the class of the NFL. On November 24th this team was sitting at 9-2, fresh off a blowout win against the Buccaneers, and holding a remaining schedule that made it appear like they were going to coast to the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Fast forward five weeks and things are now very, very different.
Not only are the Rams 2-3 in their last five games, but they’ve endured two embarassing losses at the hands of the Carolina Panthers and the Atlanta Falcons. Injuries have played a role, especially with Davante Adams being sidelined — but that still shouldn’t take an elite team like Los Angeles and cast them into the doldrums. It’s unclear if the team took their foot off the gas too early, wanted to save their energy for the playoffs, or simply looked past their weak opponents to tougher competition, but the result is the same either way: The Rams are on the verge of costing themselves much of what they built this season.
The loss of the No. 1 seed
These flat performances have taken the Rams out of contention for the NFC West, as well as the No. 1 seed. Now they will have to play on Wild Card weekend, and travel throughout the playoffs. This is bad for two reasons: Firstly, it gives less time for Davante Adams to recover, who is pivotal to Los Angeles’ red zone passing game, and secondly there’s an inherent disadvantage for the Rams to travel across time zones to prep for games.
If the playoffs began today the Rams would travel to Chicago to face the Bears, rather than have the Packers come to Los Angeles. The Bears are one of the hottest teams in the division right now, while Green Bay has lost three straight.
Matthew Stafford’s MVP candidacy has taken a massive hit
The yards have continually racked up for Stafford, but so have the interceptions. Going back to that same Nov. 24 date he was sitting at 30 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, which was the biggest selling point for his resume against Drake Maye’s breakout year.
Now he’s thrown six interceptions in five games, taking his overall TD/INT ratio to 42/8. Obviously this is still a mammoth year, but Maye now sits at 30/8 with a much worse supporting cast on offense. What was once a runaway award, much like the Rams No. 1 seed chances, has now pulled back. There’s a very real case to be made for someone other than Stafford to win MVP.
Losing to the Falcons did major damage to their own draft pick
One of the best moves at the 2025 NFL Draft was the Rams trading away the No. 26 pick to the Falcons, who then selected James Pearce Jr. A win in Atlanta would have put that draft pick heading to L.A. at No. 8. Currently it’s at No. 12, with a very real chance the pick could end up as low as 20th.
What was once a chance to land a top quarterback to develop a succession plan has now evaporated. The Rams won’t be able to get a top passer without trading up, which seems highly unlikely. They needed that win in Atlanta in more ways than one.
The NFC South has bizarrely found a way to solve Puka Nacua
This is a big deal when it comes to a potential playoff game in the NFC South without Davante Adams. This season Nacua has nine games where he’s failed to reach 100 yards receiving, including all four games against the Rams’ NFC South opponents.
Nacua has averaged 77.75 yards per game against the NFC South, and 120 yards against non-NFC South opponents. Part of this is because the division all tends to run three-deep zone coverages designed to take away explosive plays, which drastically limits the Rams’ passing game.
This is something to watch, especially if the Rams manage to land the No. 5 seed where they will travel to face the winner of Panthers vs. Buccaneers.
The cracks are showing
There’s a tendency to look at each loss in isolation and say “well, they still have a good record.” This is partially true, but doesn’t tell the whole story. Teams now have five losses of film to look over and identify what beat the Rams, particularly on offense.
Los Angeles has been a team that soared due to the No. 1 scoring offense in the NFL, and the shared DNA in four of those five losses was an inability to hit their season scoring average. The only outlier was their loss to the Seahawks, in which their overtime touchdown prevented them from falling below the mark.
Sean McVay is one of the best coaches in the NFL, without question — but good coaches will be able to learn from the weaknesses shown in losses and capitalize in the playoffs.
The Rams are still really good … I think
This is a team indicative of the 2025 season. The second you think you found a good team, they find a way to make you eat your words. There’s still every reason to believe that Los Angeles is an elite team with the potential to win the Super Bowl, but there are major cracks showing.
Without Davante Adams the offense has taken a big step back, and the defense is faltering against sub-par competition. None of it makes sense, but one thing is certain: The Rams have done a lot of damage to themselves over the past five weeks, and the ramifications for 2025 and beyond are significant.
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