It’s impossible to overstate the significance of this.

😎

Say what you will, but at his peak, he was the best route-runner in the league. https://t.co/OAsXJSbIAW

— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) May 18, 2025

my whole bloodline watching me, ashamed that I will once again put the entirety of my mental health in the hands of a football team

go rams pic.twitter.com/edAosWBo7n

— Sosa Kremenjas (@QBsMVP) May 18, 2025

Caleb Williams' father Carl wanted no part of the Chicago Bears selecting his son Caleb with the first pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Turns out, all of Carl's fears came true. Talked with @SethWickersham about his Williams story, and how things are better for Williams now. pic.twitter.com/xCFQvhFRv7

— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) May 17, 2025

Zooey wrote:

Yeah, I agree with all that. It’s kinda great, though, because using the QB salary as a starting point, the Rams have a better QB and more cap space available outside the QB for other players.

+1

This clip of @JaredVerse1 playing TE in high school is crazy…

No wonder he has been asking McVay to play on offense. That stiff arm was cold-blooded 😤 pic.twitter.com/cHsLjuxh8q

— Rams Bros. (@RamsBrothers) May 16, 2025

Despite the 49ers having the easiest schedule, @AdamSchefter isn't that confident in San Francisco 😳

"This team lost a lot more talent than people realize." pic.twitter.com/mgC8Kx653I

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) May 15, 2025

Rams’ 2025 Schedule: Instant Analysis

J.B. Long

https://www.therams.com/news/rams-2025-schedule-jb-long-instant-analysis

If I had to nominate a summer refrain for the 2025 Los Angeles Rams, “start faster” would top the list of potential phrases.

As you recall, the Rams stumbled to 3-6 and 1-4 the last two seasons. In each 2023 and 2024, they were three games below .500 at the bye before furious rallies to get to double-digit wins and a playoff berth.

Thrilling as those campaigns were, there’s a reason they were considered historic and rare – that’s hardly a blueprint for success.

This fall, thanks to a Week 7 journey to face Jacksonville in London, the Rams will travel more miles than any team in the NFC. One silver lining is being assigned to the NFL’s International Series enabled the Rams to place their open date in Week 8 and effectively divide their schedule in half. Strategically, that’s ideal.

The question becomes, can they get to that juncture with a winning record, in command of the NFC West, and in the hunt for the NFC’s top seed?

It’s a tall order. But it should be the ambition.

Pick your preferred post-Draft power rankings. We’ll take ESPN’s for illustration. The Rams are scheduled to play nine of their 17 games against opponents ranked in the top half of the league. Just four of those occur in the first seven weeks before the bye, however, and only two of those contests are against opponents that rank in the Top 10.

Week 3: at Philadelphia (2nd)

Week 6: at Baltimore (5th)

Could you argue Los Angeles is set up for a second-half surge again in 2025? Absolutely.

How about instead of finding their footing late, though, they capitalize on what appears to be an early opportunity to send a message.

Deadline Hollywood

It’s always worth highlighting the NFL’s trade deadline for the Rams, especially now that they’re armed with multiple first-round picks.

While not officially announced, we can use 2024 as a template to project this year’s deadline to be the Tuesday of Week 10, November 4th. Or in the case of the Rams, between their Week 9 home game against New Orleans and a trip to Santa Clara.

Apropos of nothing: Remember that time Von Miller and Odell Beckham, Jr. made their Rams debuts against the 49ers in prime time? Didn’t go great that night, but worked out okay in the end, as memory serves.

Flex On Em

If the Rams need any bulletin board material for OTAs, here’s what I’d serve up:

10:00 a.m. assignments: 4

Prime time appointments: 4

Now, it’s important to note that the Sunday afternoon national games are incredibly valuable inventory – just ask the good people at CBS and FOX. If Tom or Tony are calling your game, you’re doing something right. The Rams have booked four such broadcasts: Houston (Week 1), at San Francisco (Week 10), at Arizona (Week 14), and Detroit (Week 15).

Therefore, a fair portrayal of external expectations would be that the NFL and its network partners plan to feature the Rams at least eight times on the initial schedule.

Still, don’t let the truth stand in the way of a good chip on the shoulder.

Zooey wrote:

There are several teams that have matchups more interesting than any Cowboys/x matchup. It feels a little like high school.

They seem to be sticking with established, status quo money makers.

from https://frontofficesports.com/most-watched-nfl-teams/

Despite a poor season, Dallas still outdrew teams with winning records. As the NFL’s most valuable franchise, Dallas uses their well-known brand to attract fans nationwide.

I don’t defend it. But it looks like the NFL is in “recession’s comin” style thinking. It’ as if they’re openly saying “Schedule the established money makers that draw national audiences, this is not the time to re-think this”

Will a weaker O-Line and brutal schedule result in a down year for the Chiefs?@colincowherd pic.twitter.com/9g1cp4G834

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) May 15, 2025

from 7 takeaways from Rams’ 2025 schedule

Cameron DaSilva

https://theramswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/rams/2025/05/14/rams-schedule-2025-takeaways-nfl-games-dates/83620964007/

Only one outdoor game in the final five weeks

The Rams will be playing inside a lot late in the year. Their only outdoor game in the final five weeks is at Seattle on Dec. 18, a Thursday night matchup where the weather will probably be cold and potentially rainy.

They play the Panthers in Week 13 but after that, they’ll be indoors against the Cardinals, Lions, Falcons and Cardinals. In the second half of the season, they’ll only play two outdoor games in the final 10 weeks. That’s good news, especially considering how many East Coast trips are on the schedule.

Philadelphia and Baltimore trips come before the weather gets cold

Speaking of East Coast treks, the Rams will get two cold-weather cities out of the way early. They’ll face the Eagles in Week 3, which should come with some mild weather on Sept. 21. They’ll then play the Ravens in Baltimore on Oct. 12, another game that won’t feature any snow or adverse weather conditions (hopefully).

Had the NFL put either of these games in November or December, the Rams could’ve been facing some snow or frigid temperatures. The league did them a favor by putting both the Eagles and Ravens early on.

Five early kickoffs

It’s never easy for a West Coast team to kick off in the 10 a.m. PT window but the Rams will do that often. They have early games against the Titans and Eagles in Weeks 2 and 3, as well as against the Ravens in Week 6 and the Panthers in Week 13. It’s surprising that neither the Eagles nor the Ravens game was put in the late-afternoon window or in prime time.

The Rams will also play the Jaguars in London in Week 7, a 6:30 p.m. PT kickoff at Wembley Stadium. They’ll have a bye week after and will be on the East Coast the week prior, but these early kickoffs will be challenging.

Heavy emphasis on divisional games in second half

The Rams only play one divisional game before Week 9. That’s a Week 5 matchup with the 49ers. After Week 9, they’ll play five divisional games in the last nine weeks. Playoff seeding and divisional races often come down to beating rivals, so the Rams will have to take care of business in the second half of the season.

The only non-NFC West games after Week 9 are against the Bucs, Panthers, Lions and Falcons.

Two Thursday night games but some extra rest after the last one

The Rams got the short end of the stick by having to play two Thursday night games, meaning they’ll be playing those contests with short rest: Week 5 against the 49ers (following Colts game) and Week 16 against the Seahawks (following Lions game).

The good news is they will have some extra rest after each of those games, particularly following their Week 16 game against the Seahawks; they play the Falcons on Monday Night Football the following week, so it’ll be like a mini-bye.

No three-game road trips

At no point this season will the Rams have to play three consecutive road games. It’s rare for a team to do that but it’s not unprecedented – and it can really wear on a team when that happens. They’ll have back-to-back road games four times (Weeks 2 and 3, 6 and 7, 13 and 14, 16 and 17) but those are mostly manageable road trips.

They could choose to stay out east between Week 2 and 3 when they face the Titans and Eagles, and they’ll be in Baltimore before flying to London for their Week 7 game against Jacksonville.

Won’t face any teams coming off a bye

One underrated benefit of the Rams’ schedule is they won’t face a team coming off a bye. That means no one will have a significant rest advantage against them, leveling the playing field in each matchup. In 2023, they faced four teams coming off a bye and last year, they played just one team following a bye.

Zooey wrote:

I didn’t hate every player, I will admit that, and I didn’t hate Madden. They even had several players I admired, but I hated the “assassin” ethos, and the fans that embraced that. And Al Davis was the scumbag among scumbags.

I agree with all that. And with hating Tatum.

To me they were Madden, Stabler, Caspar, Belitnikoff, and that OL.

The team I purely hated back then was the Staubach-then-Danny White Cowboys.

First photo of Christian Bale as Al Davis, and Nick Cage as John Madden in the upcoming film “Madden

Los Angeles Rams 2025 schedule: NFC West champs will play 4 prime-time games

Jourdan Rodrigue

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6353353/2025/05/14/los-angeles-rams-schedule-2025/?source=emp_shared_article

The Athletic has live coverage of the 2025 NFL schedule release.

LOS ANGELES — The biggest post-draft news of the NFL offseason has finally landed (is it just me, or is the rollout for the league’s schedule release getting longer each year?).

The Rams will travel the second-most miles in the NFL in 2025 (34,832) in part due to their trip to London as the visiting team against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 7. East Coast trips also include Baltimore (Week 6), Philadelphia (Week 3) and Carolina (Week 13).

Otherwise from a travel perspective, the Rams have a solid slate. The Detroit Lions have to come to Los Angeles instead of the Rams again playing at Ford Field (their most difficult road environment of late). Of their four prime-time games, three are on the West Coast (San Francisco at home in Week 5 on “Thursday Night Football”, Tampa Bay at home in Week 12 and at Seattle in Week 16 on TNF). Their final prime-time game in Atlanta in Week 17 will also tell the Rams about how high the 2026 first-round pick the Falcons traded them this spring will be, because it’s so late in the regular season.

Week 1 keys to victory

Against the Texans in Week 1, the Rams’ young defensive line will have an opportunity to open the year with a statement against Houston’s reconstructed offensive line. They’ll also have to deal with running back Joe Mixon, so it’ll be a good initial test for run-stopping free-agent addition Poona Ford at defensive tackle.

This opener is a reunion between head coach Sean McVay and now-Texans offensive coordinator Nick Caley, who was the Rams’ tight ends coach in 2023-24.

Must-watch game: at Philadelphia Eagles, Week 3

There is no shortage of bitterness on the Rams’ side about how their last matchup ended in the 2024 divisional round.

Toughest stretch: Weeks 14-16

The Rams will likely once again be in the mix in a tough NFC race toward the postseason. The Cardinals, Lions and Seahawks will all be physical, competitive games and winning all three or a combination of the three can set them up with an edge heading into the final weeks of the regular season.

Game that has gotten tougher: home and at Seahawks, Weeks 11 and 16

If former Rams star receiver Cooper Kupp can stay healthy in the back stretch of the season, when both matchups are played between the NFC West foes, he’ll probably bring it against his former longtime team. Elsewhere, Seattle’s defense got better as time passed last year and should be a fierce group in 2025.

One game the Rams can’t afford to lose: vs. Detroit, Week 15
The Matthew Stafford/Jared Goff swap of 2021 unintentionally set up one of the more fun modern rivalries in the NFC between the Rams and the Lions. The Rams have most recently lost two heartbreakers in Detroit between the wild-card game at the end of the 2023 season and the overtime loss in the season opener in 2024.

Best offense the Rams will face: Eagles, Week 3

Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia offense ran all over the young Rams defensive line last season, even setting single-game rushing records in the process. The Rams believe they’ve fixed their run defense — and this contest will be an early chance to prove it.

Best defense the Rams will face: Eagles, Week 3

The Eagles were the bona fide most complete roster and best team in football last season on both sides of the ball — and even though the Rams’ offense produced against them in the divisional round, Vic Fangio’s group will always be among the toughest matchups in the league and will have new wrinkles in his second season as defensive coordinator.

Predicted record: 12-5

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.

Predicted NFC West finish: First

1. Rams
2. 49ers
3. Cardinals
4. Seahawks

The Rams’ resume from their deep 2024 postseason run and first-place finish earns them this spot — the other three teams will simply have to prove they are better in 2025. Plus, L.A. improved its roster in key areas such as continuity along the offensive line, at tight end, receiver, interior defensive line and inside linebacker and were able to retain Stafford for at least one more season. In order: Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks. Seattle did make some moves to improve its offensive line but the book is out on how to pressure quarterback Sam Darnold and I am skeptical they’ve done enough to protect him. I loved Arizona’s offseason plan and think the defense is poised to break out, but they have fizzled out about midseason in recent years — and I’ll never bet against Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers as being better than expected, especially after the Rams themselves set the offseason “sprint rebuild” blueprint the 49ers are now following.

.@RamsNFL @JaredVerse1 v @Eagles @saquon opens this game up in the 1st Q with this "62 yd Door Dash TD" and Verse still thinks about "what if" he got Barkley OOB. Verse' thinking is how players become great. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/brnkzb0Je6

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) May 14, 2025