The NFL released the 2025 schedule Wednesday night, and the Los Angeles Rams should have little to complain about. L.A. will start this upcoming season at home against Houston, a team that has made the AFC playoffs in back-to-back years.
The Rams are set to build on their promising campaign that ended just shy of the NFC Championship. Here are my five takeaways on the Rams’ schedule:
1. Surprising lack of primetime games
A year after the Rams played in six primetime games, there are only four on the docket this season. Most surprising is that the Eagles, Ravens and Lions matchups are not night games, odd considering all three teams are considered Super Bowl contenders. It’s a tad disappointing to see that L.A. won’t get revenge on Philly in front of a wider audience. Well, considering what Saquon Barkley did to them twice on national television, that’s probably a good thing.
Instead, Los Angeles will face the 49ers (Week 5), Buccaneers (Week 12), Seahawks (Week 16) and Falcons (Week 17) in primetime. Of course, the Ravens and Lions games could be flexed to a later time slot depending on both teams’ records at that point in the season. The NFL’s flex scheduling begins in Week 5.
2. Not a challenging first month
L.A. will play three of its first five games at SoFi Stadium. Starting the year against the Texans is a much better deal than playing at Detroit to kick off the 2024 campaign. Then, the Rams face two rebuilding squads in the Titans and 49ers, and a question mark in the Colts. San Francisco remains a dangerous thorn in Sean McVay’s side, but it has lost a lot this offseason.
And unless Anthony Richardson plays drastically different from how he has begun his NFL career, the Rams shouldn’t have much to worry about. Besides a road trip to Philadelphia in Week 3, L.A. has an easier slate to get off to a faster start that has eluded them the past two seasons.
3. Week 8 bye will be a godsend after international trip
In 2024, Los Angeles had a Week 6 bye, which didn’t seem to faze them much as they got hot in the second half of the year.
With the Rams’ bye week in Week 8, that will be perfect after playing the Jaguars across the pond the week before. After the break, the team will then face the presumably woeful Saints, so essentially, L.A. will have two straight bye weeks. The Rams will also play five divisional games over the season’s second half. Not exactly ideal, but at least McVay’s squad will have more time to prepare in defending its NFC West crown.
4. No holiday games ... bah humbug!
There was a rumor that the Rams would play on Thanksgiving for the first time since 1975. That never came to fruition. Honestly, if a Turkey Day game was going to happen for L.A., it would’ve happened last season against the Lions. We all know McVay wouldn’t have pulled an Eberlose.
Similar to my (slight) problems with the lack of primetime games, it’s somewhat disappointing not to see the Rams play on the holidays. Perhaps it will make the food digest more easily, yet the league couldn’t even bother scheduling the team for Festivus to space things out a little. Oh, just wait until my annual airing of the grievances!
5. Barring ghosts of ‘22 past, a return to the playoffs is inevitable
The Rams are projected to be one of the top teams this season. While the team has started slow in each of the last two seasons, L.A. is better positioned to start fast, with just three playoff teams in its first eight games.
There are four 10 a.m. PT starts and a trip to London, which poses unique challenges. However, Los Angeles should be set to make its third straight playoff trip since 2022, otherwise known as the season from hell. Defensive coordinator Chris Shula should be in full command of his unit with a year under his belt. A healthy Puka Nacua and the addition of Davante Adams should make life easier for Matthew Stafford.
Few teams have the firepower to keep up with the defending champs, and L.A. is presumably the top challenger to their throne. The football gods would have to relentlessly punish the Rams to keep them from another inevitable trip to the playoffs. Expect them to flirt with 11-12 wins.