The Los Angeles Rams are entering the postseason for a third consecutive season, which is the first time that they’ve done so in the Sean McVay era. They enter the postseason as the fifth seed with one of the most talented rosters and best teams in the NFL.
It’s a much different place than where the Rams were the previous two years. As I wrote in 2023 before the playoff loss to the Detroit Lions, a win in that game didn’t matter for that version of the Rams. The Rams were at the table, they were more
so just happy to be there. That wasn’t a roster built to win and the focus was always the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Making the playoffs was great, but after starting 3-6 and going 7-1 down the stretch, everybody was just happy to be there.
The results of that season didn’t matter in the wider view of the long-term goal. After the disaster of 2022 and re-tooling the roster, the Rams were always looking ahead to the next two years. Things felt different last year and as if they had a better shot at the ultimate prize. While they fell short, it was clear that the Rams would be in even better shape to make an even stronger run in 2025. As mentioned earlier, the 2025 season was always the deadline in mind to build a roster capable of winning another Super Bowl.
This Rams team is in a much different spot. The Rams shouldn’t just be happy to be in the dance. That’s why losing the No. 1 seed and NFC West was so incredibly disappointing. Potentially playing three straight road games is more difficult than two home games where the Rams were 7-1 this year. This playoff run is simply more important.
Over the last two years, the Rams were ahead of schedule after re-tooling. Again, this is one of the best rosters in the NFL. How many more cracks at this are you going to get with Matthew Stafford? The Rams have to take advantage, let alone in a year in which Stafford is playing at an MVP level. Another Super Bowl appearance, let alone a Super Bowl win and MVP would do wonders for Stafford’s legacy.
Years like this are rare and far from a given. Sustained success in a league that’s constantly changing and prides itself on parity isn’t easy. This isn’t a Rams team that can fall short this week or next week and we immediately go to, “Well, there’s always next year.” Simply put, there are not many more of these chances with Stafford at quarterback. The Rams need to be playing on Conference Championship Sunday for a chance to go to the Super Bowl at bare minimum. That should be the expectation.
The Rams sit at the same table that they were at in 2023 with more chips in the middle. They are at the table as one of the more feared players with a lot more pressure and more at stake. The window to win a second Super Bowl with Stafford is slowly closing. Success looks different for the 2025 version of the Rams than it did back in 2023. A playoff appearance and win in the wild card round shouldn’t be enough to be content. We’re getting to the point where it should be Super Bowl or bust for the Rams and Stafford and that’s the mindset that they should have in the 2025 postseason.
