The Los Angeles Rams finished the first half of their schedule with a 5-2 record. Following the bye week, the Rams will enter the second half of their season, which will be much more difficult than the first half. The real season starts on Sunday as the Rams play five of their six division games over the next 10 weeks. This is a team that will have a lot to prove over the next two months. They will need to show that they are true contenders in the NFC. Here are five predictions for the second half of the season.
1. Rams defense will finish inside the top-10
This almost didn’t seem possible heading into the season, with many predicting that the Rams defense would finish inside the bottom-10 or below average at best. Before the season, I did a ‘half-baked’ takes piece in which I wrote about things that I sort of believed and were at least within the realm of possibility. In that piece, I said that the Rams defense would finish closer to the top-10 than the bottom-10. Well, here we are eight weeks into the NFL season and I’m going to solidify that prediction a little more. This Rams defense is going to finish the season inside the top-10.
As it stands, the Rams defense ranks second in the NFL in EPA per play behind only the Houston Texans. They are also second in defense DVOA behind the Detroit Lions. This Rams defense has been outstanding this year. While they will have some more difficult opponents in the second half of the year, this is a group that knows what its identity is and they should be able to continue building on that as the season progresses. There may be a drop-off, but they shouldn’t fall outside the top-10.
Matthew Stafford is currently tied for the NFL lead in touchdown passes with Patrick Mahomes. However, Mahomes has played one more game than Stafford. Nearly one-third of Stafford’s passing touchdowns have come in one game. With that said, he’s also thrown multiple touchdown passes in five out of seven games this season. Removing the game against the Baltimore Ravens, Stafford is still averaging two touchdown passes per game with a touchdown rate of 5.6 percent. Even if Stafford sees some regression over the next 10 games, 20 touchdown passes is still possible, and he could eclipse that.
Again, the schedule for the Rams does get more difficult, but the Rams play pass defenses ranked 27th, 26th, and 20th over the second half of the season. They also play defenses that have allowed the 6th, 12th, 15th, and 16th-most touchdown passes per game. Stafford seemed to find some chemistry with Davante Adams in the red zone before the bye week which will only help both of their touchdown numbers.
3. Rams will have top-2 seed in the NFC
If the playoffs were to start this week, the Rams would be the sixth seed in the NFC and have to travel to Tampa Bay to play the Buccaneers. However, over the second half of the season, the Rams are going to have an opportunity to work their way up the standings. They’ve currently only played two conference opponents and one division game. Over the next 10 weeks, all 10 are NFC opponents, and five of those are division games. One of those games is against the aforementioned Buccaneers in addition to the Detroit Lions. The Rams will also play the Seattle Seahawks twice. Matthew Stafford has never lost to the Seahawks since arriving in Los Angeles.
It is certainly within the realm of possibility that the Rams finish 13-4. Earning a top-two seed won’t be easy, but if the Rams can win four of their final five division games and then lose one other conference game that isn’t the Buccaneers or Lions, they can do it. That would put the Rams at home until at least the NFC Championship game.
4. Jared Verse will finish top-3 in DPOY conversation
As it stands, Jared Verse is sixth in Defensive Player of the Year odds at +1800 behind Will Anderson, Nik Bonitto, Aidan Hutchinson, Myles Garrett, and Micah Parsons. Given the Browns’ struggles, it’s unlikely that Garrett will receive serious consideration. The Houston Texans have also been mildly disappointing this season.
Verse may have started the season slow, but he has a sack in four of his last five games. He leads all edge rushers in run-stop win-rate in 2025. Since Week 3, he’s tied for fifth in total pressures and is ninth in win-rate. When it comes to impact plays, he’s second in forced fumbles among edge rushers behind Hutchinson. As Verse is healthy and the Rams play eight teams in the bottom half of the league in pass-blocking, it should allow him to have a second-half surge. Hutchinson or Parsons may win the award, but Verse will be in the conversation.
5. Terrance Ferguson will surpass Gerald Everett’s rookie numbers
Coming out of the bye week, Terrance Ferguson has two receptions for 52 yards and a touchdown. Over the first seven games of the season, Ferguson had been inactive for two of them and played less than 10 percent of the offensive snaps in two others. However, this was all likely part of the development plan.
Ferguson’s snap count has gone up in each of the last two games. He played a season-high 48.6 percent of the offensive snaps against the Ravens in Week 7. With Tutu Atwell out, it’s going to open up more opportunities and Ferguson has the ability to unlock the vertical passing game. To surpass Gerald Everett’s rookie numbers, Ferguson would need to surpass 16 receptions for 244 yards. While Everett started fast in 2017, he only had 46 yards over the final seven games. Ferguson should get more involved after the bye week, and have the opportunity to surpass those numbers.
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