NFL winners and losers: The Rams are the best team in football

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It’s absolutely wild how much the Los Angeles Rams have been slept on this year. In a turbulent, bizarre season where so few teams can claim to be “good,” the Rams have quietly put together the most impressive season in the NFL — and it’s not particularly close. Sunday Night Football cemented that, with a beyond-impressive 34-7 beatdown of the Buccaneers, another team viewed as being in the upper tier of the NFC.

The Rams don’t just deserve their flowers, they should be viewed as the Super Bowl favorite.

If that statement makes you bristle, you probably haven’t paid enough attention to the Rams this season. Sean McVay and his staff have executed a coaching masterclass in 2025, while Los Angeles is one of the few teams who can say they don’t have any glaring weaknesses. The numbers bear this out, because there is functionally no area in which the Rams have struggled this season — while also cementing themselves among the league’s best in almost every area.

• No. 6 ranked points scored (28.1/g)
• No. 2 ranked points allowed (16.3/g)
• No. 8 ranked offense
• No. 13 ranked defense
• No. 2 in takeaways
• No. 5 in points scored per drive
• No. 2 in points allowed per drive

Ruthless efficiency is the name of the game when it comes to the Rams, and they’ve done all this while playing one of the most difficult schedules in the NFL this season, with a +3.4 rating from Pro Football Reference. Try as you might to find a glaring weakness, it simply doesn’t exist.

Matthew Stafford has been the nexus of this success. We’ve seen this season pivot from him being good, to being the best quarterback this season, to now coming to the realization he’s having one of the best seasons we’ve seen from a quarterback in a long time. As it stands, Stafford is on pace to finish 2025 with 4,374 passing yards, 46 TDs and just 3 INTs. If this holds it would rival the best passing seasons in the history of the NFL when it comes to total touchdowns, but Stafford would be several steps above the other legendary quarterbacks on the list when it comes to TD/INT ratio. Yes, he’s been that damn good. Of course, it helps when you have two weapons like Puka Nacua and Davante Adams on the outside.

That’s the beauty of this Rams offense. Every single player has cemented a niche for themselves that McVay can leverage into stunning results. Nacua is the chain-mover, the reliable, every-down receiver who creates opportunities for everyone else. Adams is the home run receiver, leading the team in receiving touchdowns and making the spectacular catches in the air. They have worked in tandem to open up the run game for Kyren Williams, who will go for over 1,000 yards this season barring injury.

Meanwhile on defense, the Rams have so much power at every position. This team might not blow you away with its sack totals, but both Byron Young and Jared Verse are adept at rushing the quarterback and making life difficult. The stellar tackling of LB Nathan Landman and S Karen Curl add such a profound element of reliability to the defense that it allows the team to play looser with its blitz packages and stunts, knowing that even if an opposing offense can beat the trickery, Landman and Curl will prevent explosive plays.

Every single element of this team was on display Sunday night, and the Bucs had no answers. Obviously losing Baker Mayfield didn’t do Tampa any favors, but they were getting bodied before their QB left with an injury. Mayfield had one of the worst first half passing games from a quarterback in NFL history, and when he left the game his stat line was an embarrassing 9-for-19, 41 yards, and two interceptions. It makes a statement when you are able to derail a passing offense like Tampa Bays, while also shining on the other side of the ball. It tells the NFL that you aren’t just a serious challenge, but a legitimate force to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in February.

The Rams are that damn good, and we should put respect on their name.

Now a spin around the rest of the NFL’s winners and losers.

We’ve seen so many promising receivers wasted in the NFL in recent years that it’s just heartwarming to see a guy light everything up. JSN not only had a monster day (8 rec, 167 yds, 2 TD), but set the Seahawks’ franchise record for most receiving yards in a season.

It’s absolutely wild that this has happened in 12 weeks. Think about some of the receivers who have played in Seattle: Tyler Lockett, Doug Baldwin, D.K. Metcalf, the legendary Steve Largent — all are amazing in their own regard, but Smith-Njigba has achieved something that none of them were able to. It’s a truly remarkable achievement this season that sets him apart from the majority of the NFL.

We might need to start talking Offensive Player of the Year potential for JSN.

We’re fast approaching territory where McCarthy being under center is going to lead to heads rolling. The reality here is that the Vikings have lost three in a row, and Kevin O’Connell has lost all faith in his young QB. We know this because the stats tell the tail when it comes to the run/pass balance the offense has.

Week 10 vs. Ravens — 42 passes, 13 RB runsWeek 11 vs. Bears — 32 passes, 16 RB runsWeek 12 vs. Packers — 19 passes, 18 RB runs

Minnesota was behind in all three games, but particularly against Green Bay the coaching staff decided the safest way to try and get back in the game was to keep running the ball, and relying less and less on J.J. McCarthy. This has evolved into a certified mess.

If the Vikings end up with a Top 10 pick in 2026 (right now they have No. 12), then QB has to be back on the draft menu.

Its wild to think of a Week 12 game being “must-win” for Kansas City based on their recent history, but thats precisely what their contest with the Colts was. For the majority of the game it looked like the Chiefs might actually miss the playoffs, but in the end this team did what it always does: Refuse to quit, find a way, and live to fight another day.

This is far from the most convincing Chiefs team we’ve seen. Defensively they were sloppy for the first three quarters, the offense struggled to move the ball effectively — but as we’ve seen time, and time again: They just found a way.

It’s much, much too early to say that Kansas City will make the playoffs, but the hands of the doomsday clock have been turned back a couple of hours. At 6-5 they’re just outside the bubble, but still alive. The next two weeks against the Cowboys and Texans will be key.

Even the most staunch Caleb Williams hater should be impressed with what he did against the Steelers on Sunday. This was a hard-fought, close game that needed to be a bit of a statement for Chicago that shows they can beat decent teams, not just hand losses to some of the worst organizations in the NFL.

Nobody will confuse Pittsburgh with being world beaters, but they’re really not bad. This is a team that is inside the playoff bubble, has the pieces to compete, and on Sunday the dude who made it all happen was the Bears’ QB. Williams finished with 239 passing yards and three touchdowns in what might have been the best individual game of his career.

Not only did Caleb overcome some early adversity, but managed to contend with the early pressure from T.J. Watt and Co., pivot, and find a way to win. It was a big, big day for this team.

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