The Los Angeles Rams have a target on their back this season as the overwhelming favorites to win the Super Bowl. Quentin Lake even admitted, "All these other teams probably hate us," and he's not wrong. At least their fanbases do.
They went all-in with Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, Myles Garrett and now Aaron Donald, building on a roster that reached the NFC title game (and nearly won) last season. Theoretically, the Rams should be better in 2026. But if they don't win a Super Bowl, all of this would have been for nothing.
An NFC West crown, nor a conference championship, will be enough. They need a ring. And as great as they look on paper, there are a few things that could derail their chances of winning it all. Here are five of them.
Offensive line depth
This has
already developed into a concern for the Rams. Keagen Trost and Justin Dedich are currently on injured reserve and slated to miss at least four games. That gave way to Dylan McMahon and Bill Murray making the 53-man roster. The problem is, the Rams are sorely lacking depth at offensive tackle.
Alaric Jackson could be suspended, which we'll get to in a bit. If he is, David Quessenberry is the next man up. For context, Quessenberry was behind D.J. Humphries on the depth chart last season, and we all saw what happened when Humphries filled in against the Falcons last year.
As promising as Trost is, he played one quarter of preseason football before getting hurt. The Rams don't have a proven swing tackle like they did last year with Warren McClendon Jr.
Sure, the interior is fine with Dedich (when healthy), Beaux Limmer and even Murray and McMahon, but the tackle spot is worrisome.
Matthew Stafford’s health
Stafford is as healthy as can be heading into a season. He didn't miss any practices this summer due to injury, a stark contrast to last year when he sat out all of camp with a back issue. The Rams managed his workload to keep him fresh and feeling good, too.
But he's still 38, with the back of a 38-year-old. No matter how much treatment and rest he gets, he could still be one hit away from his back flaring up.
Now, you could say that about any quarterback regardless of age. And you wouldn't be wrong! But the older a player gets, naturally, the more injury-prone he becomes. And for the Rams, neither Stetson Bennett nor Ty Simpson has ever taken a regular-season snap in the NFL.
If Stafford goes down for any reason, the Rams' season could be in big trouble.
Potential suspensions
There are two Rams players who could face potential suspensions, and both of them are incredibly important to the team's success: Puka Nacua and Alaric Jackson. Neither player has been placed on the commissioner's exempt list, which is a good first hurdle, but they're still subject to potential suspensions depending on the NFL's findings.
Jackson's suspension would certainly be longer if the NFL hands one down. He was suspended two games in 2024 for an off-field incident, and with this summer's arrest, it would be a second violation. Plus, he was arrested, whereas Nacua wasn't.
Either way, the Rams will take a major hit if one (or both) of them is suspended. Nacua is the engine of the offense, while Jackson is a cog on the O-line – and a tough player to replace (again, see: Rams-Falcons in 2025).
Super Bowl-or-bust pressure
There isn't a team in the NFL under more pressure than the Rams. They'll welcome it, but there's no doubt every loss will be amplified and each hiccup will be blown out of proportion. Sean McVay is as good as anyone when it comes to keeping his team focused, but with seven prime-time games and a star-filled roster, the Rams will be in the spotlight a lot.
There's no reason to believe McVay and the Rams won't be able to handle the pressure. There are a lot of big personalities in the locker room, too, just like 2021, but that was never a problem for their Super Bowl-winning squad that year. It won't be this season, either.
The Rams are familiar with having high expectations. They had them in 2021, and again in 2022 after adding Bobby Wagner and Allen Robinson. Those two seasons ended very differently. Which outcome will this year's team face?
Special teams
Ah, yes. Good ol' special teams. If not for this unit last year, the Rams might've been playing yesterday as the defending Super Bowl champions. But because Joshua Karty struggled to kick field goals higher than the helmets of his blockers, and because Xavier Smith failed to hold onto a late punt against the Seahawks, the Rams fell short.
McVay overhauled that group by committing to the steady Harrison Mevis and by signing Grant Stuard and Joe Cardona. He also hired Bubba Ventrone as his special teams coordinator. It remains to be seen it those changes will be positive ones, but it can't be any worse than 2025 ... right?
If the Rams don't improve on special teams, it could cost them multiple wins again.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: 5 things that could derail Rams' Super Bowl hopes this season
