Rams may have walked away with a victory but not without new concerns

The Los Angeles Rams face a paradox after a Week 1 victory. As comforting as it is to recognize the massive achievement of limiting one of the NFL’s most competitive teams to just nine points and no touchdowns, the Houston Texans' defense was nearly as impressive in Week 1. Without the heroics of veteran wide receiver Puka Nacua and his 130 receiving yards, the game may have turned out another way.

And so, we come to the paradox. The chicken and the egg. It’s not you, it’s me. The 2025 NFL season is populated with just one data point, and one data point does not make a trend. What that means is that the Rams cannot say with any level of confidence that their struggles to score were self-inflicted and need to be corrected. On the other hand, did the offense simply run aground on an elite NFL defense?

After just one week in 2025, the offense is 20th in terms of yards gained and 23rd in NFL rankings in terms of points scored. That’s good enough for now, as long as this defense is better. But that is not what fans were promised in the offseason. And it’s not what will keep this team on track to win games. The offense often finds itself pushing the same players to the brink of exhaustion and injury, and the pattern returned in Week 1.

Rams' Week 1 victory raises alarms on offensive rigidity

The offense ran 57 plays in Week 1. The game plan was rather balanced, as the team passed 29 times and ran with the football 25 times. But how did the team deploy the surplus of offensive weapons? With so many players all vying for opportunities, how did the offense decide to hand those opportunities out? Let’s focus on the offensive playmakers:

• RB Kyren Williams: 18 carries for 66 yards, 1 TD | 2 targets for 1 reception, 3 yards | 20 opportunities – 69 yards, 1 TD
• WR Puka Nacua: 1 carry for 1 yard | 12 targets for 11 receptions, 130 yards | 13 opps – 131 yards
• WR Davante Adams: 0 carries | 8 targets for 4 receptions, 51 yards | 8 opps – 51 yards
• TE Colby Parkinson: 0 carries | 2 targets for 2 receptions, -6 yards | 2 opps – (-6 yards)
• TE Davis Allen: 0 carries | 2 targets for 1 reception, 13 yards, 1 TD | 2 opps – 13 yards, 1 TD
• WR Xavier Smith: 0 carries | 1 target for 1 reception, 36 yards | 1 opp – 36 yards
• RB Blake Corum: 1 carry for 2 yards | 1 target for 1 reception, 14 yards | 2 opps – 16 yards
• WR Jordan Whittington: 1 carry for 5 yards | 0 targets | 1 opp – 5 yards?
• WR Tutu Atwell: 0 carries | 1 target for 1 reception, 4 yards | 1 opp – 4 yards

To make it make sense, we’ve eliminated four scrambles by QB Matthew Stafford. The question is: Did this offense use enough playmakers to confuse the opposing defense? Well, 72 percent of the offensive opportunities in Week 1 ran through Kyren Williams, Puka Nacua, and Davante Adams. That is fine for one game. Unless...

At the end of the 2024 NFL season, HC Sean McVay expressed interest in getting the offense back on track. The team acknowledged that by season’s end, the willingness to overuse a few players led to irreversible problems as the season wore on. The team banked talent in both the tight end and running back rooms, only to mothball those players on game day. The Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers were able to find a balance between veteran experience and fresh legs.

This offense is still seeking that balance. It’s almost as though this offense is addicted to sticking with the same playmakers and will only give other players a chance when those players have spent their last bit of energy on the football field.

The front office loaded up on offensive weapons in the 2025 NFL Draft, and not one rookie on offense touched a football in Week 1. Yes, the argument to get experienced players on the football field is an easy one. But that same argument led to an offense that was stale, unimaginative, and disappointing last season. Is that the plan for 2025 as well?

It’s not you, it’s me. At least, until proven otherwise, that is how the coaching staff must view the scoring drought that has already afflicted the offense, despite entering Week 1 with a clean bill of health. And if a fully healthy offense can only manage to score 14 points, something needs to change quickly.

As always, thanks for reading.

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