Sean McVay quickly reminds reporters the reality of Rams precarious position

After 12 weeks of NFL football, the Los Angeles Rams are looking pretty good. The team, which boasts one of the best records in the NFL, has been disposing of other NFL contenders in increasingly impressive fashion, and has crossed the .500 barrier with six games remaining on the schedule

The team has to fight the urge to relax. This is a team that has won 10 of 17 games in each of the past two seasons, and now has the opportunity to win just one of the final six games to tie that mark. But this is the opportunity that the team and fans have been hoping for.

Slow starts have muddled the team into an urgent push to succeed in the second half of the season simply to remain relevant. Now, atop the NFL, what are head coach Sean McVay's views of his team currently projected as the number one seed:

The team is successful, so far. But the season is far from over. The job's not done. And even as the team dismantled a hot Tampa Bay Buccaneers team to improve to 9-2 and drop their opponent to 6-5, the team knows that it can be on the receiving end of a good butt-kicking the very next week.

Matthew Stafford thanks fans for showing up to SoFi Stadium

It seems almost a given that fans would show up in force to cheer on Los Angeles this season, a year with incredible success. And yet, the turnout for Week 12 was so impressive that starting quarterback Matthew Stafford made it a point to thank fans for making the stadium difficult for the visiting Bucs.

The same Stafford who is getting increasing buzz over the NFL MVP award.

And the two tales are interwoven with many other subplots, narratives, and plot twists that make this season so unique and so thrilling for fans. Yes, the team has reached new heights of success that it has not matched since 2018.

But even in 2018, the team lost just three regular-season games, but lost in Super Bowl LIII. In fact, the team was not overpowering the competition in the postseason. The sum of all scores in the postseason turned out to be just 49 to 48, with LA holding a one-point advantage. Perhaps the team peaked too soon?

The onus on fans is not to root for challenging or even ugly wins. But it is important not to be swept up by the media suggesting that Los Angeles merely has to show up to win games. Six games remain, and half of those games are against contenders. The other games include two games against an NFC West Division opponent, while the final game includes the Atlanta Falcons, a team that is sending its Round 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to LA.

So even games that do not appear competitive have significant stakes on the line. So don't let up. Don't become over-confident. Sure, the Rams are enjoying success. But this season's cake is just starting to rise. Nobody wants it to fall suddenly.

And as always, thanks for reading.