L.A. Rams Confidential

The Los Angeles Rams are the NFL’s best team through Week 14.

The Seahawks have been running neck-and-neck with the Rams in the DVOA rankings for weeks. There are reasons to be skeptical of the Seahawks, however: Sam Darnold, Sam Darnold, Sam Darnold, etc. The Rams have a quarterback and head coach who have navigated the path to a Super Bowl in the past. The Seahawks have a second-year head coach and a Darnold who Darnolds.

The Bills and Packers are outstanding at their best but self-destructive bumblers at their worst. The Rams are never self-destructive and rarely bumble, at least not since they changed kickers. Their toughest loss of the year so far was to a first-place team, on the road, in the rain, against a quarterback who kept rolling natural-20s on fourth downs, by three points.

And then there are the Lions, with their injuries, goofy trick plays, Darnold-with-better-handlers quarterback, breathtaking playmakers, War Daddy head coach and backs to the wall. If the Lions want to prove this intro about the Rams wrong, they can state their case on Sunday. The Seahawks also get to make a closing argument in two weeks. But for now, the Rams are the NFL’s best team. No one is taking that away from them.

The Rams are hiding some statistical secrets beneath their record and reputation, however. They have enjoyed some hidden advantages in 2025: the kinds of advantages that have little to do with Sean McVay’s brilliance, Matthew Stafford’s talent/savvy or anything else, the kinds that might not be sustainable into and through the playoffs.

Here are three of those Rams secrets. Don’t think of this as “nitpicking.” It’s deep-dive analysis!

Secret Rams Advantage #1: Injuries

The Rams have been one of the NFL’s least injury-impacted teams in 2025. Per Sports Info Solutions, the Rams suffered just 35 Total Points Missed through the first two-thirds of the season, the lowest figure in the NFC and second-lowest in the NFL.

Total Points Missed is an injury-tracking metric built off Sports Info Solutions’ Total Points metric, which in turn is built off Expected Points Added. I don’t know much about the methodology, only that SIS is a trustworthy source. Different analytics methods and injury-tracking procedures will yield slightly different results. But the eyeball test confirms the data: the Rams have been pretty darned healthy this season. At least until very recently.

The following starters have not missed a game for the Rams this year: Matthew Stafford, Davante Adams, Kyren Williams, Alaric Jackson, Coleman Shelton, Kevin Dotson, Byron Young, Jared Verse, Kobie Turner, Nate LANDMAN, Braden Fiske, Kobie Turner, Kamren Curl and Cobie Durant.

Here’s a partial list of part-time starters and major role players who have not missed a single game: Blake Corum, Poona Ford, Jordan Whittington, Davis Allen, Kamren Kitchens, Emmanuel Forbes.

Puka Nacua missed just one start. Same with starting linebacker Omar Speights. Colby Parkinson missed two early-season games. Left guard Steve Avila was out for a month with an ankle injury but has been back for weeks.

Approaching things from the other direction: the Rams injured reserve currently consists (alphabetically) of Tutu Atwell, Rob Havenstein, Tyler Higbee, Quentin Lake, Roger McCreary and Keir Thomas. McCreary was a trade-deadline acquisition. Thomas is a bit player. The rest are significant contributors, but the 49ers would need a biblical miracle to pare their injured reserve down this far. It’s easy to imagine the Lions at 11-2 with an injury report this clean.

The Patriots were the NFL’s least injury-impacted team through Week 13, with 25 Total Points Missed. Good health helps explain the Patriots’ sudden success. In fact, many of this year’s surprise contenders (Patriots, Seahawks, Broncos as a runaway division champion) can be found near the bottom of the Total Points list standings. Disappointments like the Bengals, Cardinals and Commanders can be found near the top. The 49ers, born into this darkness, led the NFL with 156 Total Points Missed at the time of the study.

The Higbee and Havenstein injuries both struck in Week 11 against the Seahawks. So they were very recent when SIS published their Total Points Missed data. The Rams may therefore be a little more banged up than the data suggests. They also may be nearing the end of a run of good fortune, injury-wise.

It’s probably nothing to worry about. The Rams have about 20 tight ends now that Sean McVay has morphed into Arthur Smith, but Smarter and Sexier. Warren McClendon has been filling in regularly for Havenstein for two years. Still, it bears monitoring.

Secret Rams Advantage #2: Penalties.

The Rams have the highest net penalty differential in the NFL at 314 yards.

(You didn’t think you would get through December at Too Deep Zone without reading the words “net penalty differential,” did you? Too Deep Zone is the Net Penalty Differential Capital of the World! It took all of my self control to not lead with it. Also, I apologize for some imprecision in the following paragraphs. NFLPenalties.com did not update its data for Week 14 as of Wednesday, so I had to corroborate among multiple sources.)

The Rams have committed 57 penalties for 456 yards. Both figures are the lowest in the NFL. Rams opponents have committed 99 penalties for 770 yards; both figures are among the NFL’s highest.

The Bengals have the second-highest penalty differential in the NFL at 242 yards. As you might surmise, the Bengals’ figure is fueled by 12 opponents’ pass interference penalties. The Rams’ advantage is more broad-based.