What Is a Successful 2025 Season for the Rams?

It's now been four years since the Los Angeles Rams won Super Bowl 56 over the Cincinnati Bengals. Since that special season, the Rams haven't been able to replicate that same success, and their seasons since have had various degrees of success.

Though they won, the Rams' Super Bowl hangover hit the team like a truck, and it resulted in one of the worst seasons for a defending Super Bowl champion in NFL history. They only won five games during the 2022 regular season, and worst of all, they didn't even have their own first-round pick.

2023 was a lot better, and they looked more competent as an NFL team. A lot of that is due to the emergence of Puka Nacua on the team, but they had been doing an amazing job at drafting despite not having high draft picks, and they all came together at the right time.

Though this season was an improvement, it resulted in them losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Detroit Lions. It was a fierce game where the Rams showed a lot of heart, but moral victories don't get you very far in the NFL.

2024 started off shaky, and it looked like another lost year for the Rams. There were rumors of trading away integral parts of their team, like Cooper Kupp, around the trade deadline due to how bad the season looked at that point.

However, the Rams were able to rally back late in the season and snuck into the postseason, where they had their deepest run since winning the Super Bowl three years prior. They looked poised to take down the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, with the ball in their possession as the clock wound down. Yet, their offensive line crumbled at the worst moment, and their season ended.

Heading into 2025, what can be considered a successful season for the Rams? The obvious answer is a Super Bowl win, but that's every team's vision of success for every season. Is an NFC Championship appearance considered a success even if they lose that game?

I would say 2025 is definitely Super Bowl or bust for the Rams, and that's mostly due to their aging roster. Matthew Stafford and Davante Adams are still playing at an elite level, but how long is that sustainability?

It takes a significant injury to either of them to ruin their chances of another ring, and their age doesn't give them any cushion. They have a future beyond their contracts with bright stars like Nacua and Jared Verse, but this is the best their team has looked in years.

They have to capitalize next season. Even if they lose the Super Bowl next year, as long as they've made it, I would consider that a success. That would be Sean McVay's third appearance as their head coach and shows that the franchise is in good hands.

Anything less than a Super Bowl appearance cannot be considered a successful year for the Rams. Their roster cannot afford to spend each year slowly chipping at the playoffs, making it one more round every year.