The Los Angeles Rams haven’t started 2-0 since their Super Bowl season in 2021. Before that, Sean McVay and the Rams had gone 2-0 in every season from 2018-2021. On Sunday, the Rams will have an opportunity to win the first two games of the 2025 season as they take on a re-building Tennessee Titans team on the road.
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Rams are 5.5-point favorites against the Titans in Week 2. The Titans are coming off of a 20-12 loss to the Denver Broncos in which they intercepted
quarterback Bo Nix twice. Sunday’s game will also mark Cam Ward’s first home start at Nissan Stadium.
Again, the Rams are a team with Super Bowl aspirations and after slow starts each of the past two seasons, they are looking to come out of the gates sprinting. While they toughed out a 14-9 win over the Houston Texans in Week 1, it wasn’t a clean performance by any means. The Rams will hope to get the offseason rust off with games against the Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, and Baltimore Ravens on the horizon.
This game could come down to which quarterback best handles the pressure. In Week 1, the Rams defense blitzed at a 23.5 percent rate, generating a pressure rate of 75 percent. Against the blitz in Week 1, rookie quarterback Cam Ward was 0-for-6 and sacked four times with an EPA/dropback of -1.39. Meanwhile, the Titans blitzed only 20.9 percent of the time in Week 1. Still, despite just a 17.6 percent pressure rate, they forced two interceptions.
These two teams last played in 2021 with the Titans coming out on top, 28-16. In that game, defensive lineman Jeffrey Simmons created 10 pressures and gave the Rams offensive line a lot of trouble. For the Titans to have a chance in this game, they will need Simmons to have another big game. As it stands, the Rams are managing injuries to the interior of the offensive line with Kevin Dotson and Steve Avila nursing ankle sprains.
The point total for this game is set at 41.5 points. Much like in Week 1 for both teams, the under may be the way to go. Offensively, the Rams haven’t scored more than 19 points in a regular season game since Week 14 of last year. While this game takes place in the early 1 p.m. slate, the Rams are 17-8 in that time slot under Sean McVay. That’s the third-best in the NFL in that span.
With the injuries to the offensive line, the Rams may be limited in the passing game when it comes to protecting Matthew Stafford. The Rams may win and improve to 2-0, but I’ll take the under and the Titans to cover at home in another messy game.
