Throughout the 2025 postseason, the Los Angeles Rams were the only team to give the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles a challenge. They were in control following the safety at the end of the third quarter. Even after falling behind, the Rams came 14 yards away from kicking an extra point to win.
It’s more complex than “if the Rams would have beaten the Eagles, they would have won the Super Bowl.” However, they were a touchdown away from hosting the NFC Championship Game and would have been favored against the Washington Commanders. Who knows what would have happened in the Super Bowl? NFL games are very matchup dependent. Had the Rams beaten the Eagles, there’s no guarantee that they also beat the Kansas City Chiefs.
Multiple things can be true here. The Rams were extremely close to hosting another NFC Championship game. However, this is still a roster that overachieved in a sense. Prior to the season, they were projected to win 8.5 games and were +350 to win the NFC West. They won 10 and clinched the division before Week 18. That’s not a negative, but over the last two years, not many expected the Rams to be where they ended up. The coaching staff has gotten the most out of the roster which still has a lot of needs. Outside of quarterback and special teams positions such as kicker and punter, there arguably is not a position that the Rams don’t need.
Back in 2022, the Rams had a ‘run it back’ mantra. They were going to run it back with a star loaded roster that had a ‘studs and duds’ team-building approach. The result was getting complacent, a misuse of resources, and the worst season under Sean McVay. Run it back with the same roster and the Rams will fall short again. The defense remains void of a top talent in the back seven. The offense still lacks a lot of explosiveness.
Of course, the Rams will bring back some of the same core. Still, it is a roster in a bit of a transition phase. They went from a ‘three pillars’ of Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and Aaron Donald to Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua, and Jared Verse. Two of those players are on the same timeline.
However, the Rams can’t expect to simply bring back the same players and just hope for a different result next time. At the end of the day, while close, the Rams have fallen short each of the last two years in the postseason. The NFL is forever changing and it’s never as simple as “just running it back” and hoping things go differently. That’s not to say that drastic changes are needed. Young players will certainly continue to develop and improve. With that said, the front office still needs to take steps to get over the hump.
Darious Williams will be another year older at cornerback while Ahkello Witherspoon has been a band-aid on the outside. The Rams need to add a starting caliber cornerback this offseason. Even if Bobby Brown III is brought back, depth along the defensive line, including a gap-eating nose tackle, is needed. That doesn’t mention necessary changes at linebacker.
Offensively, the Rams have to find a way to get more explosive. Whether that’s from both a schematic or personnel standpoint, it needs to happen. The Rams ranked 15th in passing plays of 20 or more yards and were tied with the fewest run plays of 20 or more yards. Scoring felt hard at times and it was because moving down the field was difficult. The Rams need to figure out what they’re going to do along the offensive line because last season’s approach was a disaster from the get-go.
All of this is to say that while the Rams are close, there is still a gap. The Rams still have to find a way to close that gap. That should be the case for the 31 other teams that didn’t hoist the Lombardi Trophy as well.
Again, multiple things can be true here. The Rams were very close to hosting an NFC Championship game at SoFi Stadium. Losing to the Eagles in the fashion that they did was one of the more heartbreaking losses since the 2003 NFC Divisional loss to the Carolina Panthers. At the same time, the Rams also aren’t in a position to remain complacent and simply run it back. If the Rams want to close the gap and capitalize on another run with Stafford, some changes will need to be made.