Battle Red Blog
Thus we get to the first roses and thorns of the 2025 season. As a reminder, this is where we look at the top five players from each team and also look at their collective stats on offense and defense to see if we can figure out how each team plans to win on Sunday. We are using PFF scores for the top five players. I went through a tutorial on my last piece. You can access the tutorial here.
It should be noted that my information on the trade was apparently accurate. I am blaming that on pro football reference as they had the terms reversed for some reason, but as a reporter I should be better. Now, here are the top five players for each team according to PFF. These numbers are all from the 2024 season. Starting in week two we will be looking at the 2025 numbers.
It should be noted that the Rams had a number of very highly rated offensive players right under the top five. Four wide receivers had ratings of 70 or higher including Devante Adams with a 75.8. Matthew Stafford also came in around there as well. So, with four receivers, two lineman, and the quarterback it is pretty clear what the strength of the Rams is.
If 80 is the demarcation between good starter and Pro Bowl starter then we see that the Texans had five Pro Bowl type performers from last year’s team. It should be noted that C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Jalen Pitre, and Kamari Lassiter also rated highly. This is obviously going to be a damn good defense. This is not to say that the Rams are a bad football team by any estimate, but how they are 2.5 point favorites in this one is anyone’s best guess. The Texans are clearly the better team on paper.
The 2024 Rams were 24th in rushing yards and really didn’t add much in the rushing game. They have a good stable of backs and Sean McVay likes to run the football, but they aren’t particularly good at it. However, the added DeVante Adams to an offense that was already 10th in the NFL in passing yards. It seems that the path to victory for the Rams will come through the air. This is where having four highly rated receivers will come in handy. Nacua and Adams might be blanketed well by Stingley and Lassiter, but the third and fourth corners will have a challenge on their hand with their other wideouts. The question will be whether Stafford can find those guys before the pass rush comes.
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