A dark-horse preseason NFL pick is now staking its claim for league dominance after an emphatic run through a series of contending teams.

The Rams rose to a 9–2 record late Sunday, tops in the National Football Conference, after dismantling the Buccaneers, 34–7, on NBC’s Sunday Night Football. The win was the Rams’ sixth in a row and seventh in eight games, a period that has also included victories over divisional leaders and playoff hopefuls such as the Colts, Ravens, Jaguars, 49ers, and Seahawks.

Despite four postseason berths and the Super Bowl LVI title this decade, the Rams were not widely seen as a top contender this season. Instead, Los Angeles stood in eighth or ninth position at the start of the 2025 season in most betting odds to win Super Bowl LX behind heavily favored teams such as the Eagles, Bills, Ravens, and Chiefs. 

That’s all changed as the Rams’ run, combined with the Eagles’ walkoff loss Sunday to the Cowboys, not only gave Los Angeles top position in the conference but also the best Super Bowl betting odds. The Rams are also attempting to join the neighboring Dodgers, back-to-back World Series champions, in bringing league titles back to Los Angeles.

“Do you remember who was in first place with six weeks left last year? Me neither,” said Rams coach Sean McVay. “But this team has fun, and good football is fun, and when you’re doing it with good people that you don’t want to let down, that’s really fun.”

The back end of the Rams’ regular-season schedule will feature a healthy dose of national television appearances. The team has a featured late Sunday afternoon game on Fox on Dec. 14 against the Lions. That will be followed by a Thursday Night Football appearance on Dec. 18 on Amazon Prime Video against the Seahawks, and a Monday Night Football slot on Dec. 29 on ESPN against the Falcons.

Veteran Story

A key part of the Rams’ ascendance is the play of veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford. The 37-year-old already has gained plenty of accolades, including the prior Super Bowl win and an NFL Comeback Player of the Year award in 2011. This year’s performance that includes 30 passing touchdowns against just two interceptions now has Stafford atop NFL Most Valuable Player odds, moving just past Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, starring in only his second year in the league.

If Stafford does win MVP, he would be the oldest player in league history to do it for the first time. Others who have gained the honor at older ages, such as Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, were repeat winners.

Unlike Maye, whose average annual compensation of about $9.2 million is well below top quarterback standards, Stafford is set to earn $44 million this year. That figure is much more in line with top signal- callers around the league whothat are in the mid-eight figures for their salaries. 

Both Stafford and Maye are now being routinely showered with “MVP” chants by their respective fans. 

“When you’ve got a quarterback like that, a first-ballot Hall of Famer, where you just know he’s going to go out there, he’s going to put up points, it makes it easy on us,” said Rams outside linebacker Jared Verse of Stafford.

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