Greg Beacham@gregbeacham
Sean McVay has won 9 playoff games in 9 seasons with the Rams. That’s the same number this team won in the previous 33 seasons before he arrived.

…

from https://theramswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/rams/2026/01/10/rams-panthers-wild-card-game-win-takeaways/88123048007/

Is there a quarterback in the NFL you’d rather have late in the fourth quarter than Stafford? The likely MVP struggled for much of the game after starting 8-for-8, but he came through when it mattered most. After the Panthers took a 31-27 lead with just over 2 minutes to play, Stafford took the ball and didn’t flinch.

He led the Rams down the field and scored a game-winning touchdown on a beautiful pass to Colby Parkinson. He went 6-for-7 for 71 yards on the final drive, with his lone incompletion being a drop by Davante Adams over the middle.

Stafford didn’t have his best stuff on Saturday, throwing one interception and nearly another in the second half before Puka Nacua turned into a DB and broke up the pass, but he rose to the occasion late, as he always does.

from Frank Schwab: https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/live/rams-survive-panthers-epic-wild-card-upset-bid-with-incredible-matthew-stafford-to-colby-parkinson-td-pass-in-final-minute-200028826.html

It was the first playoff game of Young’s career, and he played one of his best games in the NFL.

Stafford was just a little better. After the Panthers took that late lead, Stafford was nearly perfect on the next drive, and then the Panthers couldn’t get into field-goal range as Jimmy Horn dropped a pass on fourth down to end the threat.

The Rams could go on to win a Super Bowl. The talent is there and they spent most of the season playing at a championship level. But if people weren’t worried about the warning signs for the Rams late in the season, they might be now.

Wildcard game v. Carolina

***
Nate Atkins@NateAtkins_
Rams TE Terrance Ferguson is OUT against the Panthers today. As is CB Josh Wallace.

L.A.’s inactives:

TE Terrance Ferguson
OL Kevin Dotson
CB Josh Wallace
CB Derion Kendrick
CB Darious Williams
WR Jordan Whittington

With Stetson Bennett as the emergency QB.

Rob Maaddi@RobMaaddi
The Associated Press 2025 NFL All-Pro team selected by a national panel of 50 media members:

First team

Offense
Quarterback — Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Running Back — Bijan Robinson, Atlanta
Fullback — Kyle Juszczyk, San Francisco
Wide Receivers — Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams; Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle; Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati
All Purpose — Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco
Tight End — Trey McBride, Arizona
Left Tackle — Garrett Bolles, Denver
Left Guard — Joe Thuney, Chicago
Center — Creed Humphrey, Kansas City
Right Guard — Quinn Meinerz, Denver
Right Tackle — Penei Sewell, Detroit

Defense
Edge Rushers — Myles Garrett, Cleveland; Will Anderson Jr., Houston; Micah Parsons, Green Bay
Interior Linemen — Jeffery Simmons, Tennessee; Zach Allen, Denver
Linebackers — Jack Campbell, Detroit; Jordyn Brooks, Miami
Cornerbacks — Derek Stingley Jr., Houston; Quinyon Mitchell, Philadelphia
Slot cornerback — Cooper DeJean, Philadelphia
Safeties — Kyle Hamilton, Baltimore; Kevin Byard, Chicago

Special Teams
Placekicker — Will Reichard, Minnesota
Punter — Jordan Stout, Baltimore
Kick Returner — Ray Davis, Buffalo
Punt Returner — Chimera Dike, Tennessee
Special Teamer — Devon Key, Denver
Long Snapper — Ross Matiscik, Jacksonville

___

Second team

Offense
Quarterback — Drake Maye, New England
Running Back — James Cook, Buffalo
Fullback — Patrick Ricard, Baltimore
Wide Receivers — George Pickens, Dallas; Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit; Chris Olave, New Orleans
All Purpose — Bijan Robinson, Atlanta
Tight End — Kyle Pitts, Atlanta
Left Tackle — Trent Williams, San Francisco
Left Guard — Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis
Center — Aaron Brewer, Miami
Right Guard — Chris Lindstrom, Atlanta
Right Tackle — Darnell Wright, Chicago

Defense
Edge Rushers — Brian Burns, New York Giants; Danielle Hunter, Houston; Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit
Interior Linemen — Leonard Williams, Seattle; Cameron Heyward, Pittsburgh
Linebackers — Devin Lloyd, Jacksonville; Ernest Jones IV, Seattle
Cornerbacks — Patrick Surtain II, Denver; Devon Witherspoon, Seattle
Slot cornerback — Derwin James, Los Angeles Chargers
Safeties — Jessie Bates III, Atlanta; *-Talanoa Hufanga, Denver; *-Xavier McKinney, Green Bay

Special teams
Placekicker — Brandon Aubrey, Dallas
Punter — Michael Dickson, Seattle
Kick Returner — Kavontae Turpin, Dallas
Punt Returner — Marcus Jones, New England
Special Teamer — Del’Shawn Phillips, Los Angeles Chargers
Long Snapper — Andrew DePaola, Minnesota
___
*-tied for second-team spot

Zooey wrote:

I’m afraid that Lake’s injury corresponded with something else, an identification of a weakness in the Rams’ approach that multiple teams took advantage of. I don’t know what else to suggest.

That’s the worry.

PFF: Final 2025 NFL defensive line rankings

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-final-2025-nfl-defensive-line-rankings

Rank Previous Rank Team PFF WAR PFF Grade Top-graded player Move
1 1 Cleveland Browns 1.3696 87.1 Myles Garrett 0
2 2 Houston Texans 1.0976 81.2 Will Anderson Jr. 0
3 3 Pittsburgh Steelers 1.0297 76.9 Cameron Heyward 0
4 5 Denver Broncos 0.8884 72.2 Nik Bonitto +1
5 4 Los Angeles Rams 0.8755 85.6 Poona Ford -1
6 6 Detroit Lions 0.8252 79.6 Aidan Hutchinson 0
7 7 Dallas Cowboys 0.7743 74.0 Quinnen Williams 0
8 9 Seattle Seahawks 0.7462 75.1 DeMarcus Lawrence +1
9 8 Philadelphia Eagles 0.7355 72.5 Joshua Uche -1
10 10 Minnesota Vikings 0.7238 68.6 Jonathan Greenard 0
11 11 New York Giants 0.7087 68.0 Dexter Lawrence 0
12 12 Green Bay Packers 0.6414 64.0 Micah Parsons 0
13 14 Atlanta Falcons 0.5415 66.1 David Onyemata +1
14 13 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0.5401 62.6 Vita Vea -1
15 17 New England Patriots 0.4709 63.6 Cory Durden +2
16 15 Buffalo Bills 0.4661 64.6 Greg Rousseau -1
17 16 Tennessee Titans 0.4567 68.6 Jeffery Simmons -1
18 21 New Orleans Saints 0.3816 62.1 Chase Young +3
19 19 Los Angeles Chargers 0.3741 67.5 Khalil Mack 0
20 20 Kansas City Chiefs 0.3656 60.8 George Karlaftis 0
21 18 Indianapolis Colts 0.3567 64.1 Laiatu Latu -3
22 22 Las Vegas Raiders 0.3408 54.2 Maxx Crosby 0
23 24 Jacksonville Jaguars 0.3201 61.6 Josh Hines-Allen +1
24 23 Washington Commanders 0.2655 55.7 Dorance Armstrong -1
25 26 Carolina Panthers 0.2338 58.8 Derrick Brown +1
26 29 Chicago Bears 0.233 53.6 Montez Sweat +3
27 27 San Francisco 49ers 0.2229 50.8 Bryce Huff 0
28 25 New York Jets 0.195 64.9 Jowon Briggs -3
29 28 Arizona Cardinals 0.1917 51.0 Josh Sweat -1
30 30 Cincinnati Bengals 0.1210 57.1 Trey Hendrickson 0
31 31 Baltimore Ravens 0.0803 60.2 Travis Jones 0
32 32 Miami Dolphins -0.0921 50.0 Zach Sieler 0

Dave Kluge@DaveKluge
I’m bored on a flight so I’m going to guess every team’s Week 1 starting QB.

Arizona Cardinals – Dante Moore
Atlanta Falcons – Kirk Cousins
Baltimore Ravens – Lamar Jackson
Buffalo Bills – Josh Allen
Carolina Panthers – Bryce Young
Chicago Bears – Caleb Williams
Cincinnati Bengals – Joe Burrow
Cleveland Browns – Deshaun Watson
Dallas Cowboys – Dak Prescott
Denver Broncos – Bo Nix
Detroit Lions – Jared Goff
Green Bay Packers – Jordan Love
Houston Texans – CJ Stroud
Indianapolis Colts – Riley Leonard
Jacksonville Jaguars – Trevor Lawrence
Kansas City Chiefs – Geno Smith
Las Vegas Raiders – Fernando Mendoza
Los Angeles Chargers – Justin Herbert
Los Angeles Rams – Matthew Stafford
Miami Dolphins – Malik Willis
Minnesota Vikings – JJ McCarthy
New England Patriots – Drake Maye
New Orleans Saints – Tyler Shough
New York Giants – Jason Dart
New York Jets – Kyler Murray
Philadelphia Eagles – Jalen Hurts
Pittsburgh Steelers – Aaron Rodgers
San Francisco 49ers – Brock Purdy
Seattle Seahawks – Sam Darnold
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Baker Mayfield
Tennessee Titans – Cam Ward
Washington Commanders – Jayden Daniels

"There are game-changers. These are the guys that may have a size advantage, athletic ability, horse power advantage. Then there are guys I would call game-planners, they're more reliant on the game plan."@colincowherd breaks the playoff QBs into 2 tiers pic.twitter.com/FVv0ymmL98

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) January 8, 2026