When and where: Week 4 at home
Key additions: EDGE Myles Garrett, CB Trent McDuffie, CB Jaylen Watson
Key subtractions: EDGE Jared Verse, LT Rob Havenstein
Last season: Lost two games in Seattle by a combined 5 points, Matthew Stafford won MVP because somebody had to
The question for this team: Is this an actual dream team or a Dream Team?
Over the past three seasons, the Rams have lost three playoff games by a combined 11 points. Their 6 point loss to the Eagles in 2024 and their 4 point loss to the Seahawks
in 2025 were not just the closest games those Super Bowl champions had in the playoffs, they were the only close games those teams had in the playoffs. There is an alternate universe, not very different from our own, where this Rams team is coming off of back to back Super Bowl wins. But in our universe, they have needed a little bit more to get over the hump. Enter the two time Defensive Player of the Year in Myles Garrett, and a two time All Pro in Trent McDuffie.
It is easy to look at a team that “won the offseason” and assume that they’re going to fall flat, because they usually do. But we don’t have to look far to find a team that actually went “all in” to win a title and did: the 2024 Eagles.
There is a subtle area of regression coming for the Rams: they got a lot of help from the refs. The Rams had, by a significant margin, the best per game and per play positive margin in penalties (meanwhile the Eagles had the worst in both, though not by much).
This is the easiest team in the entire league let alone Eagles schedule to judge. The expectation for and of the Rams is winning the Super Bowl. Barring major injuries, anything short should be considered failure. They can’t blame the media or “outside noise” for setting unrealistic expectations and pressure. Super Bowl or bust is the bar they have set for themselves.
