Rams played in 3 of the best 25 games since 2000

USA Today

11-07-2025

The Los Angeles Rams have played in some huge matchups over the past 25 years across the postseason and regular season. While they've only won one Super Bowl since 2000, they've put together some entertaining performances — both in wins and lossess.
Yahoo Sports' Frank Schwab compiled the best 25 games of the past 25 seasons, three of which included the Rams. Two of those games, however, were Rams' losses: The Super Bowl XXXVI loss to the New England Patriots in 2001 ranked No. 18 and the 2003 divisional round loss to the Carolina Panthers ranked No. 16.
On the Super Bowl loss to New England:
The Rams were a big favorite in Super Bowl XXXVI, but a great defensive plan from Belichick kept them in the game. Then, at the end, a young Brady drove New England into position for Adam Vinatieri to hit a game-winning field goal as time expired.
On the divisional round loss to the Panthers:
The Rams came close to a few more Super Bowl titles early in the century. They were upset in the 2003 divisional round game at home when Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme hit Steve Smith for a 69-yard touchdown in double overtime. The Rams won a wild-card game the next postseason, then didn't win another playoff game for 14 years.
However, the highest-ranked Rams game was, perhaps, the peak of the Sean McVay offense when L.A. took down Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in a regular-season shootout in 2018.
The Rams' 54-51 Week 11 win ranked No. 8 on Schwab's list. It featured 14 total touchdowns, including three defensive scores, and 1,001 combined yards of offense.
There has been one game in NFL history in which a team scored more than 50 points and lost. This was it. It wasn't just a random high-scoring game; this was a Monday night showcase between two 9-1 Super Bowl contenders late in the 2018 season. It wasn't just a defensive debacle either. There were big scoring plays from each defense in the game. It's just that the offenses were that good. The Rams held on in a game that thrilled us.