Turf Show Times
The bye week seemed to come at just the right time for the Los Angeles Rams. Puka Nacua missed one game with an ankle injury and it’s within the realm of possibility that he returns in Week 9. There are also several lineup changes the Rams could consider implementing with an extra week to prepare.
Here are four thoughts I have on the rest of the season and how the Rams can build their resume as contenders in 2025:
By most objective measures, both the Rams and Seattle Seahawks rank towards the top of the NFL. These are two of the most well-rounded teams in 2025 as they can beat you with either of their offense or defense.
While LA should feel positive about it’s 5-2 start to the year, every single one of their wins have come against AFC teams. Meanwhile, they’ve dropped two games against NFC teams in the playoff hunt—the Eagles and 49ers—and they’ve yet to build their resume as a contender in their own conference.
Personally, I don’t see the 49ers on the same level as either the Rams or Seahawks. San Francisco is clearly the third-most talented team in the division, though they benefit from a pillow fight schedule that will bolster their overall record ahead of the postseason.
LA will play the Seahawks in weeks 11 and 16 and these are the single two most important games they could play the entire year. It’s unclear which team is better, and it’s likely these could be closely competitive games that help shape the entire NFC playoff picture.
Worried about the Rams’ ability to hold up at corner? Well, how can you expect to stop Jaxon Smith-Njigba and company?
We watched Jared Verse and Braden Fiske wreck Sam Darnold’s season a year ago. Can they do it again?
The ability to shapeshift and be multiple is how you win in the playoffs. NFL coaches are adept at crafting gameplans that takeaway your best strengths, and you must be able to counterpunch or you risk watching the rest of the postseason from your couch.
This year’s Rams team might be the best at finding counters that we’ve seen in the Sean McVay era. They just played more 13 personnel in one game against the Jacksonville Jaguars than some franchises use in an entire season. LA demonstrated they can win without Puka Nacua by sharing the offensive workload and tapping into their promising young depth in Blake Corum, Jordan Whittington, Konata Mumpfield, and Terrance Ferguson.
There are also encouraging signs on the defensive side of the ball.
Darious Williams just put together his two most impressive weeks of the season. Is he amidst a turnaround, or this unsustainable? I’m not sure of the answer but I do know things are trending in the right direction for him.
Braden Fiske should have paid rent to the Jaguars...
