Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Getty
Matthew Stafford #9 of the Los Angeles Rams looks on before a game against the Minnesota Vikings.
The Los Angeles Rams’ full 2025 schedule was released along with the other 31 NFL teams. There appears to be a lot of confidence in the outfit that has Sean McVay as head coach and Matthew Stafford at quarterback.
The league gave the Rams four prime-time games. Another will be featured, albeit early in the morning, in London.
That plays into ESPN’s Sarah Barshop’s “biggest takeaway” from the Rams’ schedule.
“The NFL expects the Rams to be a good and relevant team, giving Los Angeles five standalone games, including two of their last three games of the season,” Barshop wrote on May 14. “Three of those five island games are away from SoFi Stadium, including the back-to-back in Weeks 16 and 17.”
The Rams will travel the second-most miles in 2025, behind only the Los Angeles Chargers.
Barshop points to the Rams’ making the playoffs in all but two of McVay’s eight seasons at the helm. They have made the playoffs in three of four seasons with Stafford at the controls on the field.
Barshop also cited the Rams’ returning the majority of their 10-win team from 2024.
The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue noted the team’s offseason upgrades. Specifically, Rodrigue pointed to “small but important fixes” with players like Poona Ford.
Rams Predicted to Repeat Recent Trend
Matthew Stafford, Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams
GettyMatthew Stafford #9 and Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay celebrate a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings.
Rodrigue predicted the Rams would win 12 games and claim the NFC West in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2017 and 2018.
“This is a better football team after nailing two consecutive draft classes and plugging around those ascending young starters with a top quarterback in Stafford, and small but important fixes elsewhere, such as along the defensive line,” Rodrigue wrote on May 14.
Barshop predicted the Rams would win “at least” seven of their final 10 outings.
“Los Angeles has gone on a run to make the playoffs each of the past two seasons using similar surges, although both were necessary given their 3-6 (2023) and 1-4 (2024) starts to the past two seasons,” Barshop wrote. “The schedule sets up for a strong end to the 2025 season, especially with few potential cold-weather games.”
Stafford’s performances in cold-weather games were a storyline leading up to the NFC Divisional Playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Stafford and the Rams played the eventual champions closer than any other opponent.
Rematch Looms Large on Rams’ Schedule
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
GettyMatthew Stafford #9 of the Los Angeles Rams calls a play against the Philadelphia Eagles.
With the NFC Championship Game as the backdrop, both Barshop and Rodrigue highlighted the Rams’ rematch in Week 3.
“There is no shortage of bitterness on the Rams’ side about how their last matchup ended in the 2024 divisional round,” Rodrigue wrote, also calling the Eagles the best offense and defense LA will face in a “must-watch game.”
Barshop urged fans to “circle” the game.
“This is a rematch of the snow-filled game that ended the Rams’ 2024 season. That game, a 28-22 loss, was so close that Eagles cornerback Darius Slay Jr. later said Los Angeles was the eventual Super Bowl champion’s biggest threat in the playoffs,” Barshop wrote. “This one is early enough so that weather is unlikely to be a big factor.”
The NFL notably put three of the Rams’ four prime time games in the second half of the season. That could suggest a belief that is when they will play their best football.
Stafford is 0-3 against the Eagles with the Rams, and 4-3 against them in his career.