J.B. Long

If I had to nominate a summer refrain for the 2025 Los Angeles Rams, "start faster" would top the list of potential phrases.

As you recall, the Rams stumbled to 3-6 and 1-4 the last two seasons. In each 2023 and 2024, they were three games below .500 at the bye before furious rallies to get to double-digit wins and a playoff berth.

Thrilling as those campaigns were, there's a reason they were considered historic and rare that's hardly a blueprint for success.

This fall, thanks to a Week 7 journey to face Jacksonville in London, the Rams will travel more miles than any team in the NFC. One silver lining is being assigned to the NFL's International Series enabled the Rams to place their open date in Week 8 and effectively divide their schedule in half. Strategically, that's ideal.

The question becomes, can they get to that juncture with a winning record, in command of the NFC West, and in the hunt for the NFC's top seed?

It's a tall order. But it should be the ambition.

Pick your preferred post-Draft power rankings. We'll takeESPNs for illustration. The Rams are scheduled to play nine of their 17 games against opponents ranked in the top half of the league. Just four of those occur in the first seven weeks before the bye, however, and only two of those contests are against opponents that rank in the Top 10.

Week 3: at Philadelphia (2nd)

Week 6: at Baltimore (5th)

Could you argue Los Angeles is set up for a second-half surge again in 2025? Absolutely.

How about instead of finding their footing late, though, they capitalize on what appears to be an early opportunity to send a message.

Deadline Hollywood

It's always worth highlighting the NFL's trade deadline for the Rams, especially now that they're armed with multiple first-round picks.

While not officially announced, we can use 2024 as a template to project this year's deadline to be the Tuesday of Week 10, November 4th. Or in the case of the Rams, between their Week 9 home game against New Orleans and a trip to Santa Clara.

Apropos of nothing: Remember that time Von Miller and Odell Beckham, Jr. made their Rams debuts against the 49ers in prime time? Didn't go great that night, but worked out okay in the end, as memory serves.

Flex On Em

If the Rams need any bulletin board material for OTAs, here's what I'd serve up:

10:00 a.m. assignments: 4

Prime time appointments: 4

Now, it's important to note that the Sunday afternoon national games are incredibly valuable inventory just ask the good people at CBS and FOX. If Tom or Tony are calling your game, you're doing something right. The Rams have booked four such broadcasts: Houston (Week 1), at San Francisco (Week 10), at Arizona (Week 14), and Detroit (Week 15).

Therefore, a fair portrayal of external expectations would be that the NFL and its network partners plan to feature the Rams at least eight times on the initial schedule.

Still, don't let the truth stand in the way of a good chip on the shoulder.

Make It Make Sense

The head-scratcher is Week 3.

Not only is the Rams-Eagles rematch not the kickoff game as some had hoped, it's not a prime time game at all, and it's not even a Sunday game of the week!

Instead, it's an early window, regional contest. As we alluded to above, what a golden opportunity to make a statement.

The Bright (and Early) Side

Let's spin it positively: We knowSean McVay's Rams play extraordinarily well in the early window.

And as much as they're zigzagging across the country this season, it might be advantageous to get home from Nashville, Philadelphia, and Charlotte at a decent hour. (We'll see what they choose to do following the 10:00 a.m. kick in Baltimore before heading to London.)

Weather or Not

Plus, for those who wanted another shot at the Eagles in better conditions, it shouldn't be snowing September 21 in Philadelphia.

In fact, there's no real weather concern on the Rams slate this year. Their only road trips after Thanksgiving are to Charlotte in late November, then Glendale (indoors), Seattle (cold and wet the norm), and Atlanta (indoors).

South by South West

The first indication of whether the Rams are capable of winning the NFC West is whether they can win the AFC South. They'll face all four opponents from that division before the bye, including the Texans, Titans, and Colts all crammed into September.

Top Two and Not Two

In that opening month, the Rams are scheduled to face each of the top two rookies from the 2025 Draft.

Their showdown with Cam Ward and the Titans in Nashville lands in Week 2. It didn't go LA's way against Caleb Williams and the Bears last September, unfortunately, but playing a rookie quarterback early in his tenure should bode well. In this case, hosting the Rams figures to be Ward's second career NFL start (and his home debut).

Travis Hunter, prized two-way pick of the Jags, will be on the opposing sideline at Wembley Stadium in Week 7.

Apart from Ward and Hunter, the only other Top 10 selections on the Rams slate are Tetairoa McMillan of the Panthers (eighth overall) and Kelvin Banks of the Saints (ninth).

Homecoming King

As for No. 10, the league's schedule-makers paid Cooper Kupp's homecoming no mind, assigning it a regional window kickoff in mid-November. More family business than national news, apparently.

I'm at least thankful that Kupp returns to SoFi Stadium in Week 11 before the Rams go to Lumen Field in Week 16.

That feels appropriate.

Road Less Travelled?

That trip to Seattle will be the second of two Thursday Night Football tilts for the Rams. The first is Week 5 versus San Francisco.

It's great to see the Rams are home on the Sunday leading into the short week on both occasions.

As of this writing, we don't have visibility into the calendars of the opponents, yet. But as soon as they are public, we'll follow up regarding how many foes will be coming off byes or with extra rest to prepare for LA.

Feast or Famine?

The longest Thanksgiving drought in the NFL continues.

In fact, the Rams dodge all holiday games this year no Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Black Friday.

They also avoid any three-game road stretches, which was a real possibility given the nine away games on the docket.

The consequence is that they will contend with four road back-to-backs.

One can be triangulated, if they chose to stay in Baltimore to prepare for London.

Mercifully, the last of those is not really a true road back-to-back, as the Rams will have 11 days between Thursday Night Football in Seattle and Monday Night Football in Atlanta to enjoy the Christmas holiday.

Sharpest in the Drawer

There's no perfect measure of NFL strength of schedule. However, I believeWarren Sharps methodologyis the most logical, and he has the Rams taking on the 13th hardest slate of opponents in the league.

Because of the nine away games, including an international trip, and five flights to the eastern time zone or beyond, you can argue it's more daunting than it looks on paper.

Any way you slice it, the Rams schedule is clearly the toughest in the NFC West (Seattle is 20th, Arizona 22nd, and San Francisco has the easiest path in the entire NFL courtesy of their last-place finish in the division in 2024).

Also of note, the Falcons play the fourth-easiest schedule in the league. That's relevant because the Rams own Atlanta's first-round pick in 2026, and will play Raheem Morris and his two rookie edge rushers in Week 17 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Monday Night Football.

Assuming that game stays put, it's nice to know that even with Week 18 listed as a "TBD," the League wouldn't force the Rams to play Monday in Atlanta followed by Saturday at home as part of the traditional Week 18 triple-header. Instead, the Rams regular season finale should either be a standard Sunday afternoon kickoff or Sunday Night Football on January 4, Game 272.

Either way, more predictable for fans and broadcasters, alike.

For all the rest of our schedule release reactions, here's the latest Between the Horns with D'Marco Farr and Maurice Jones-Drew.