The Los Angeles Rams are one of 16 teams to start the 2025 NFL season 1-0 after they took down the Houston Texans in Week 1. However, the 14-9 win doesn’t automatically mean the Rams are one of the best teams in the league to open the season.

While the defense looked legit, the offense sputtered at times and the offensive line is dealing with some injuries early.

This inconsistent game played out in weekly power rankings, too. No NFL pundit could pin down where the Rams are in the pantheon of the NFL. Some had the Rams as high as Nos. 5 or 6, while others had L.A. outside the top 10.

As with most things, the Rams are likely somewhere in the middle — a fringe top-10 team with upside to become a true contender in the NFC and the NFL. We’ll see how things look after the team’s Week 2 match with the Tennessee Titans.

Here’s a breakdown of where the Rams landed among top expert power rankings heading into Week 2.

Week 1 win is great, though it’s more important that QB Matthew Stafford survived it … especially given he’s now on an early pace to endure 51 sacks this season.

Beating the Texans with Matthew Stafford taking three sacks amid a back injury and none of the Rams backs having an explosive rush (10 yards or more) is a testament to the depth of this defense and the problems it can cause. 

The defense impressed in the victory over the Texans. The offense didn’t do a lot, but Matt Stafford started and finished the game with his bad back, which was a good thing.

The Rams signed Landman, a linebacker, to a veteran minimum contract this summer. Then he played like one of the best linebackers in the NFL on Sunday. The Rams keep finding hidden gems, and Landman may be next as part of a defense that looked legit against C.J. Stroud and the Texans.

The Rams’ free agent signing provided a game-changing play late in the fourth quarter. In a one-score game, Landman punched the ball out from Texans running back Dare Ogunbowale. Landman was voted a team captain and wears the green dot as the team’s defensive signal-caller.

Yahoo Sports: No. 12

Nate Landman is already a fan favorite after one game. The linebacker had 10 tackles and a massive forced fumble in the final two minutes to seal the win. The Rams got Landman on a one-year, $1.1 million deal, which might end up being the best value in the NFL this season.

I am still concerned about Matthew Stafford being 37 with a bad back, but he was good on Sunday (21 of 29, 245 yards, 1 TD) and the Rams have plenty of offensive weapons. Their defense looked great, too. I just wish the Rams had scored more than 14 points. They used to be explosive.

The Rams didn’t get many style points at home against the Texans with their offense not producing much despite some OK stats and their defense coming through via sacks and turnovers. But they still keep playing strong situational winning football with Sean McVay.

Let’s start with the really good: The Rams’ defense held the Texans to 265 yards, 4.6 yards per play, three field goals and zero points after halftime. They forced two Houston turnovers — a brilliant INT by Cobie Durant and an insane punchout by Nate Landman in the closing minutes, with the Texans threatening to take the lead. Houston hurt itself with penalties, putting the team in a lot of long-yardage situations, but the Rams took care of business. In fact, Los Angeles’ offense was a little crisper than Houston’s. This was no presumption, considering Matthew Stafford’s back issues and the fact that Puka Nacua required stitches above his right eye early in the game. Puka returned to slice up Houston for several big catches. Given their slow starts the past two seasons, the Rams will gladly celebrate this victory.

There’s isn’t a ton to take away from the Rams’ Week 1 win over Houston. Wide receiver Puka Nacua had a big game, and the front seven gave C.J. Stroud fits much of the game.

In many respects, though, it was a preseason contest that counts.

However, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford did something that only nine other NFL players have: In the fourth quarter, he surpassed 60,000 passing yards for his career.

By year’s end, the 37-year-old could also become just the ninth quarterback in league history with 400 career touchdowns.

So long as Stafford is healthy, the Rams are the NFC West’s best team.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford was sacked or knocked down on one out every five dropbacks against the Texans on Sunday. I held my breath every time he hit the turf. But Stafford picked himself up and continued to push the ball deep downfield, aggressively looking for the holes in Houston’s zone coverage. The Rams offense repeatedly stalled out in the red zone and put Stafford in some tough third-down situations, but this Week 1 performance was a reminder of how good Stafford is when he’s healthy.