The Bus: Rams, Not 49ers, Are Favorites in Division

Don’t be so quick to anoint San Francisco’s return to NFC prominence. That’s according to Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis, who said this week the Rams are looking at a wide-open window in 2025.

“In their division, they are the favorites,” Bettis told RG.org this week. “I think the Niners are going to be good, but not great. The Rams definitely have an advantage on that side.

“I think the team they’re going to have to beat is going to be the Eagles. They’re going to be right back at it again. They’re built to beat the Eagles, and if they can slow down the running game, they’ve got a chance.”

The other reason the Rams have a chance to win the division and challenge the Eagles, Bettis said, is the quarterback that could one day join him in the Hall of Fame. And when Bettis began his career with the Rams, during their first stint in Los Angeles, the team didn’t have a quarterback like Matthew Stafford.

“They have a great quarterback,” said Bettis, nicknamed The Bus. “They’ve got some really, really outstanding receivers. The running game is going to be solid. They’re maybe a cornerback away, an impact secondary guy away from being really, really special.

“When you’ve got a really good coach and a good quarterback, you’re going to be in the conversation. So yes, the Rams will be a really good football team this year.”

And that’s a big deal to Bettis because when he played for the franchise, the Rams were 5-11 in 1993, 4-12 in 1994 and 7-9 after moving to St. Louis in 1995. A Pro Bowler each of his first two years, he topped 1,000 rushing yards in both 1993 and 1994, earning first-team All-Pro honors as a rookie and the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year.

On the first day of the draft in 1996, the Rams dealt Bettis and their third-round selection to Pittsburgh for the Steelers’ second-rounder and a fourth-round choice in 1997. Bettis immediately reeled off six straight 1,000-yard seasons in Pittsburgh, and nearly got there again in 2004. He retired in 2005 after earning his only Super Bowl ring.

At that time, Bettis ranked fifth on the all-time rushing list with 13,662 career yards. In 13 seasons since the Rams drafted him in the first round (10th overall) of the 1993 draft out of Notre Dame, he amassed 91 touchdowns on 3,479 career carries. Enshrined as a member of the Hall of Fame Class of 2015, Bettis now ranks eighth on the all-time rushing list, barely 400 yards ahead of No. 9 Eric Dickerson (13,259).

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