Rams 2025 Season in Review

46 touchdown passes. Eight interceptions. Matthew Stafford led the NFL in scoring throws at 37 years old. Here's how the Rams built the second-best passing attack in football, what Puka Nacua became when defenses sold out to stop him, and the one defensive number that explains why this season ended in Seattle. 12 five. Number five seed in the NFC. A wild card win in Carolina, an overtime survival in Chicago, then a four-point loss at Seattle in the Conference Championship. One game from the Super Bowl — and the data says they were closer than that scoreline looks.

The Rams finished +152.9 in offensive expected points added — a measure of how much each snap improved their chances of scoring — ranking second in the league, 90-seventh percentile. The defense was −65 in expected points added allowed, which on the defensive side is the good direction — ninth in football, 70-fifth percentile. Top 10 on both sides. And steady. Across 17 regular-season games, the Rams scored 30 or more eight times, but they also won ugly — 14 to nine over Houston in Week One, 17 to three at Baltimore in Week Six. The losses were almost all by a field goal: three points to the Niners in overtime in Week Five, three points to Carolina in Week 13, one point at Seattle in overtime in Week 16, three points at Atlanta in Week 17. This wasn't a boom-or-bust team. This was a team that lived on the margins and usually won them.

Now let's talk about the passing offense — because this is where the season lived. Stafford finished with 4707 passing yards, 46 touchdowns, and just eight interceptions across 17 games. 46 leads the league. His adjusted net yards per attempt was 8.25, second among qualified starters. The team's passing expected points added was +137.9 on 621 attempts — +0.22 per dropback, second in the league, 90-seventh percentile. The protection was elite: 23 sacks allowed on 624 dropbacks, a 3.7 percent sack rate, 90-seventh percentile. Stafford had time, and he used it. Puka Nacua was the engine — 129 catches, 1715 yards, 10 touchdowns on a 30 percent target share. Steady floor, high ceiling. The signature throw came in Week 18 against Arizona — second and 10, Stafford steps up, finds Nacua deep left for a 28-yard touchdown that iced the Cardinals before halftime. That's what this passing offense did all year. When they needed a play, they got one.

Now let's dig into the rushing offense, where the picture gets more honest. The Rams ran for 2152 yards on 465 carries — 4.6 yards per attempt, seventh in the league, 80-first percentile. Volume there, efficiency solid. But the rushing expected points added was −4 on the season — neutral, eleventh in football. The ground game was a complement, not a weapon — steady floor, low ceiling. Kyren Williams carried it 259 times for 1252 yards and 10 touchdowns, tied for ninth in rushing scores. And here's the thing — Williams was the closer. Three of his 10 touchdowns came on fourth-and-one from inside the one-yard line. The Rams went for it on 29 of 108 competitive fourth downs — 26.9 percent, fourth in the league, 90-first percentile in aggressiveness. They trusted the run game to finish drives even when the per-play numbers said it was average. 68.5 percent of red-zone trips ended in touchdowns — sixth in football. Not elite. Reliable when it mattered.

Next up, the pass defense. The Rams generated 47 sacks — ninth in the league, 70-fifth percentile — and forced 26 takeaways, 16 interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries, sixth in football, 80-fourth percentile. Disruptive front, opportunistic secondary. The signature play came in Week 11 against Seattle — third and eight, Darnold throws short left for Shaheed, and Josh Wallace jumped the route, picked it, and took it 56 yards to the Seattle one. In a two-point game, that swing was worth more than eight expected points. That's what this pass defense did at its best — it created the play that decided close games. And close games were the entire season. Total defensive expected points added allowed was −65 — ninth in football, 70-fifth percentile. Solid, not dominant. But they showed up when the game was on the line.

And the run defense. The Rams allowed 1892 rushing yards across 17 games — just over 111 yards per game — and only eight rushing touchdowns all year. Eight. That's the number that tells you this front held up at the goal line — a steady floor, no game where they got gashed, no stretch where the front fell apart. It was the quiet structure underneath everything else, and it gave the pass rush room to tee off. When you allow eight rushing scores in 17 games, you've earned the right to play your scheme.