Turf Show Times
Throughout the 2025 season, the Los Angeles Rams offense has been one of the best in the NFL. While it may not statistically be the best of the Sean McVay era, an argument can be made that it is the most balanced. They have a quarterback playing at an MVP level. One wide receiver is tied for the lead in receptions while the other leads the NFL in receiving touchdowns. They are one of three teams with two running backs who rank inside the top-30 in rushing yards.
Under McVay, the Rams have either been very good throwing the ball or very good running the ball. In 2017 and 2018, the offense was led by Todd Gurley and the run game. When the Rams won the Super Bowl in 2021, it was supercharged by Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp. They’ve never had both. This Rams team has both.
In earlier iterations of the McVay offense, it struggled to function without an elite offensive line. During the 2017 and 2018 seasons the offensive line ranked sixth in EPA per play in both years. The offense ranked sixth and third. In 2019, the offensive line ranked 31st and the offense ranked 18th. It was an offense that struggled to compete out of structure because the quarterback also struggled to make plays out of structure. The Rams won the Super Bowl in 2021 with a dropback offense in large part because they also had the best pass-blocking offensive line.
At surface level, all of that makes sense. In the NFL, everything starts up-front and in the trenches. It’s difficult to function without good offensive line play and the Rams learned that first-hand in 2022. However, over the last three years, the Rams have managed offensive line injuries and come out on the other side. Slow starts in 2023 and 2024 were in large part due to injuries. When the offensive line got healthy, the offense hit its full potential.
While the Rams dealt with injuries this season, the offense also didn’t really miss a beat. It’s true that the Rams lost two games when Justin Dedich filled in for Steve Avila at left guard early in the year. However, the offense scored more than 20 points in each of those games. Even still, the Rams have technically been without their starting right tackle for a majority of the season. Their backup has played like one of the best offensive tackles in the NFL.
Coming into the season, the offensive line wasn’t necessarily seen as a weakness, but it certainly had questions. Alaric Jackson was a question mark with blood clots. The Rams opted for familiarity, signing Coleman Shelton to start at center over Beaux Limmer. They also didn’t address offensive line in the draft at all. Even if there was confidence in the starters, there were some questions about the depth.
While there were certainly some early bumps, this has evolved into a dominant unit. They are one of three teams that rank...
