The fans and media have been conflicted about who to crown as this year's “team to beat.” Amid a truly strange NFL season that has featured a plethora of upset losses and ugly wins, many people have opted to place their trust with either the Kansas City Chiefs or Philadelphia Eagles, the Super Bowl matchup in two of the last three years. Finally, though we have reached the point where a squad has convincingly taken the lead in both the eye and metrics tests. The Los Angeles Rams are presently the class of the league.
Following a 34-7 drubbing of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, LA has seized control of the No. 1 seed in the NFC. A 9-2 record (.818) is obviously important, but there is another statistic that warrants proper acknowledgement. The Rams rank first in both offensive and defensive Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA), which measures performance and efficiency and compares it to league average by adjusting for down, distance and strength of opponent.
Only four other squads in NFL history have led in both categories after Week 10 or later, per FTN Fantasy's Aaron Schatz: the 1994 Dallas Cowboys, 2001 LA Rams, 2007 New England Patriots and the 2014 Denver Broncos. Although none of those franchises won the Super Bowl in the respective seasons in which they accomplished that remarkable feat, they were all unquestionable powerhouses entering the playoffs.
The 2025-26 Rams also intend to carry that label this postseason.
The Rams are balanced and dangerous
Ageless quarterback Matthew Stafford has thrown an NFL-best 30 touchdowns to only two interceptions, as he continues to make a strong case for his first career MVP award. Puka Nacua is posting an All-Pro-level season — 80 receptions for 947 yards in 10 games — and fellow wide reliever Davante Adams has scored a league-leading 12 touchdowns.
Stunningly, Los Angeles could be even more lethal defensively, as it is allowing an elite 16.3 points per game (fewest in NFL). Cobie Durant and Emmanuel Forbes Jr. lead a group that features four players with two or more interceptions, Byron Young has a team-high nine sacks, and Nathan Landman and Jared Verse have combined for seven forced fumbles.
The men who command the sidelines are also quite impressive. Sean McVay is eyeing his third Super Bowl appearance since becoming Rams head coach in 2017, and coordinators Mike LaFleur and Chris Shula could both be head coaches by next season. This is a machine, and there are no glaring flaws to be found.
Even LA's two losses felt more about what it did wrong rather than what the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers did right. That is not to discount those teams or a highly capable NFC, but if the Rams figure out how to avoid catastrophe in close games, they may be able to break this DVOA curse.
A road matchup versus the Carolina Panthers (6-6) is a potential letdown spot, so McVay's group will have another opportunity to prove that it deserves all the praise it is receiving.
