Is this team the Rams' biggest rival in 2025?

USA Today

5 days ago

NFL rivalries are always a fun discussion because you can effectively throw out the names on the roster and the records when both teams step on the field. Instead, you'll have to clubs looking to take each other down just because they want the bragging rights.
The Los Angeles Rams are no strangers to that idea, and they'll have some interesting matches in 2025 that could be considered rivalries. Their six NFC West games are certainly on that level, and you could even wrap the 2024 NFC Divisional Round rematch with the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3 as well.
But which team is the Rams' biggest rival this year? Sports Illustrated's Gilberto Manzano writes that its the San Francisco 49ers.
There might not be a better rivalry between head coaches than Sean McVay vs. Kyle Shanahan. McVay's Rams have won the past three meetings against Shanahan's 49ers, but their most significant win occurred when Los Angeles beat San Francisco in the NFC title game before winning the Super Bowl in the 2021 season.
Shanahan, however, has a 10–7 advantage in the meetings with McVay as head coaches.
It's hard to pick another team for this spot given the divisional battle as well as the ties that bind McVay and Shanahan together. They were both hired as head coaches in 2017 and both have competed in Super Bowls. However, McVay has one ring and Shanahan doesn't.
Coincidentally, the Rams were not picked as the 49ers' main rival. That honor went to the Kansas City Chiefs, who've beaten San Francisco in two Super Bowls.
The Rams were, however, named as the Detroit Lions' biggest rival. The main reason only manifested a few years ago after the Matthew Stafford-Jared Goff trade, but the games they've played have also been exciting. They'll face off again in Week 15.
The Rams got the better end of the deal with Stafford winning a Super Bowl in his first year in Los Angeles after many losing seasons in Detroit. But since then, the Lions have become a powerhouse and knocked off the Rams in the wild-card round during the 2023 season.
These two teams also had an overtime thriller in Week 1 last year, with Detroit winning, 26–20. It wouldn't be a surprise if these two rivals meet in the postseason again in 2025.
It'll be interesting how either rivalry looks if and when the main characters aren't there anymore. The 49ers will likely always be rivals because of their California and divisional connection, but the Lions' one is predicated mainly on the Stafford vs. Goff dynamic, which won't last forever.