The Los Angeles Rams historically have been close to football’s biggest stage, and ESPN’s latest countdown resurfaced some of the painful near-misses.
ESPN’s Aaron Schatz ranked the best teams of the Super Bowl era that failed to reach the championship game, with two Rams teams landing inside the top 10. The 1973 Rams checked in at No. 6, while the 2025 team came in at No. 9.
Los Angeles went 12-5 last season and reached the NFC Championship Game before a 31-27 loss to the Seattle Seahawks ended its run one victory shy of Super Bowl LX.
ESPN’s list connects the current group with one of the strongest teams from an earlier Rams era.
2025 Rams Join Franchise’s List of Painful Near-Misses
GettySEATTLE, WASHINGTON – JANUARY 25: Matthew Stafford #9 of the Los Angeles Rams rushes for a first down on fourth down as DeMarcus Lawrence #0 of the Seattle Seahawks attempts to make a stop during the fourth quarter in the NFC Championship game at Lumen Field on January 25, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
ESPN gave the 2025 Rams a 36.2% DVOA and described Los Angeles and Seattle as the NFL’s two best teams for much of the season.
The numbers support ESPN’s take. Los Angeles finished first in the league with 518 points and 30.5 points per game, while its defense allowed 20.4 points per contest.
That balance carried the Rams to 12 regular-season victories and two playoff wins before their season ended at Lumen Field.
Matthew Stafford nearly pushed them through anyway. The veteran quarterback threw for 374 yards and three touchdowns in the NFC title game, but Seattle held on after breaking up a fourth-and-4 pass from the 6-yard line with less than five minutes remaining.
Puka Nacua also delivered one of the biggest plays of the night with a 34-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter. The Rams got the ball back with 25 seconds left but could not produce one final scoring drive.
The loss became more painful after Seattle went on to win Super Bowl LX.
And, with the 2025 Los Angeles squad viewed as historically talented despite the absence of a conference championship, familiar company exists with a team from multiple decades ago.
1973 Rams Still Rank Among NFL’s Greatest Teams to Fall Short
Getty22 Nov 1992: Los Angeles Rams head coach Chuck Knox looks on during a game against the San Francisco 49ers at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California. The 49ers won the game, 27-10. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport
ESPN placed the 1973 Rams three spots higher at No. 6, assigning them a 37.6% estimated DVOA.
That team finished 12-2 and controlled the NFC West. It also led the NFL in scoring at 27.7 points per game and allowed only 12.7 points per game, the fourth-best mark in the league.
The Rams opened the season 6-0, a stretch that included a 37-31 win over the Dallas Cowboys. Their only two regular-season losses came by a combined three points.
Chuck Knox was in his first season as the Rams’ head coach in 1973, and he ended up earning Coach of the Year honors.
Then the postseason destroyed their trajectory.
Los Angeles traveled to Dallas for the divisional round and fell behind 17-0 before cutting the deficit to 17-16 in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys pulled away for a 27-16 victory, ending the Rams’ season that had looked capable of producing a championship run.
That defeat started a frustrating pattern.
The Rams won the NFC West seven straight times from 1973 through 1979, repeatedly reaching the postseason before finally breaking through to Super Bowl XIV at the end of the 1979 season.
More than five decades later, the 2025 Rams have joined that 1973 group on ESPN’s list of elite teams that never reached the Super Bowl.
For Los Angeles, the ranking serves as both recognition and an uncomfortable reminder of Super Bowl occasions slipping through.
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