Halfway through the regular season, the Rams have emerged as serious NFC contenders

The 5-2 LA Rams have unquestionably cemented themselves as one of the elite teams in the entire NFL, currently sitting at the top throne of the NFC West standings. So far, some of the notable teams the Rams have beaten include the Houston Texans, the Indianapolis Colts, the Baltimore Ravens, and most recently, the Jacksonville Jaguars. Those two losses were dealt by the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers. 

The Los Angeles Rams take on the Baltimore Ravens in week 6 of the 2025 NFL regular season.Credit: Los Angeles Rams

Strengths

There are only a small handful of teams that throw the ball as successfully as the Rams. Thanks to Stafford’s insane arm strength and accuracy, his chemistry with Puka and Davante has been nothing short of superb. At the moment, the Rams are #4 in passing yards per game, trailing only behind the LA Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, and San Francisco 49ers. 

Stafford’s current seasonal stats tally 1,866 passing yards and 17 touchdowns, with a 66% completion rate, and a QBR (quarterback rating) of 66.0. 

Puka Nacua has produced 616 receiving yards and 2 receiving touchdowns on 54 receptions, averaging 11.4 yards per catch. 

While Davante Adams has 431 receiving yards and 6 receiving touchdowns on 31 receptions, averaging 13.9 yards per catch.

What this tells us is that Puka has become the sole target to aim for when moving the chains down the field, with Davante emerging as Stafford’s favorite end zone priority. At this rate, both receivers could easily finish the season with 1,000+ receiving yards. 

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The pass defense has also been excellent thus far, currently ranked #13 in total passing yards prevented from the opposing team. Some of the noteworthy WRs that have been shutdown include Nico Collins, Zay Flowers, and Brian Thomas Jr. 

The Los Angeles Rams take on the Baltimore Ravens in week 6 of the 2025 NFL regular season.Credit: Los Angeles Rams

Weaknesses

The ground-game for the Horns hasn’t been as dominant in comparison, but the rushing duo of Kyren and Blake can still pull their weight when needed. The team is #21 in rushing yards per game, leaving room for growth and improvement moving forward.

So far, Kyren has racked up 472 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns on 107 attempts, averaging 4.4 yards per carry.

On the other hand, Blake has garnered 193 rushing yards and 1 touchdown on 41 attempts, averaging 4.7 yards per carry. 

When called upon, Kyren and Blake certainly deliver the goods. Though, in such a pass-heavy offense, the rushing duo has taken a step back within their current offensive schemes. But there is more to making a huge impact as a running back other than gaining yardage. Both players are solid blockers and can even catch the ball in pass plays when needed, highlighting their impressive skills sets as momentary WR4s. 

Defensively, the Rams are #16 in rushing yards prevented from opposing teams, which isn’t the worst but definitely isn’t the best. In past games, the defense struggled to contain standout RBs like Christian McCaffrey, Jonathan Taylor, and Saquon Barkley, especially when these players began catching passes along with their rushing attempts.

The Los Angeles Rams take on the Baltimore Ravens in week 6 of the 2025 NFL regular season.Credit: Los Angeles Rams

Remaining Schedule

Peering at the rest of the season with these pros and cons in mind, the Rams’ upcoming schedule appears to hold some challenging match-ups in the upcoming weeks. 

Some of the easier, more ideal games will pit the Rams against the 1-6 New Orleans Saints, the 4-3 Carolina Panthers, and two meetings against divisional rivals, the 2-5 Arizona Cardinals. Of course, these teams are not totally dismissible, with the Saints still revolving their offense around veteran RB Alvin Kamara, and the Panthers’ new strategy implementing a run-by-committee ground game using Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle. These teams may very well take advantage of the Rams’ weak run defense, posing as possible threats in those games. 

With that said, the rest of the match-ups are significant challenges for the Rams on both ends of the defense. The Horns will line up against the 5-2 San Francisco 49ers once again, in addition to their other divisional rivals, the 5-2 Seattle Seahawks, twice. Other teams include the 5-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the 5-2 Detroit Lions, and the 3-3 Atlanta Falcons. Aside from Tampa Bay, all of these teams boast deadly run games, two of which feature top 3 RBs in Christian McCaffrey and Bijan Robinson. But the Buccaneers, along with current MVP favorite Baker Mayfield, will push the Rams’ pass coverage to their limits, thus allowing their decent run game to surge in impactful moments.

It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season pans out. With 10 games remaining, we feel the Rams have a real shot to continue their hot streak despite some of the formidable teams left on the schedule. The run defense must become a prime focus of improvement with the selection of top-tier RBs they’ll face in the future.

In week 9, the Rams’ first game back from the break will see them hit the road down to New Orleans to face the Saints on Sunday, November 2nd at 1:05 PST.