Defense has been the backbone of Rams since they returned to Los Angeles in 2016. That was reinforced again in the 2025 season home opener, a hard-fought 14-9 win over the visiting Houston Texans on a warm September Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. The Rams were one of three NFL teams not to yield a touchdown in Week 1.
“I think the biggest thing that stood out was being able to handle adversity, stay steady in the moment, said Rams head coach Sean McVay after the game. “I thought our defense did an outstanding job of playing really well.” Now he has to prepare his team for a Week 2 road game against the Tennessee Titans next Sunday at 10 a.m.
Enter The Landman. The NFL named linebacker Nate Landman the NFC Defensive Player of the Week. Playing in his very first game for the Rams, Landman made the play of the game as the Texans were driving for the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter. He delivered the game-saving punch out, forcing a fumble recovered by defensive end Braden Fiske to preserve the victory.
Landman said he actually blacked out after the play but recovered to celebrate with his teammates on the sideline. “It meant a lot… just a great moment for us.” McVay reiterated, “Just the command, the communication, obviously the productivity. When he has 10 tackles and then he makes a huge play… He was all over the field and he did an excellent job.”
The Rams are now 7-2 in season openers during the McVay era and have been to the NFL Playoffs in six of those years. They have a 5-3 record in Week 2 during the same time period as they travel to Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee to take on the 0-1 Titans. The Titans lost 20-12 to the Denver Broncos in Week 1, generating just 133 total yards on offense under head coach Brian Callahan.
Historically, the Rams are 8-6 versus the Titans and 1-1 during the McVay era. The team last met in 2021 with Tennessee winning 28-16 at SoFi Stadium. The Titans are coming off three consecutive losing seasons with a combined record of 16-35, including a dismal 3-14 record last season under Callahan. Rookie quarterback Cam Ward, the 1st overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, had a rough outing in Week 1 against the Broncos. He completed 12 of 28 passes for 112 yards, was sacked twice but threw no interceptions.
In contrast, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford starting his 17th year in the league, shook off the rust from not training until the final weeks before the opener. Stafford completed 21 of 29 passes for 245 yards, with one passing touchdown to tight end Davis Allen, while suffering three sacks against an elite Texan defense. Stafford set an NFL record on Sunday with the most career opening day starts at 17, moving one ahead of Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway. Stafford also become only the 10th NFL quarterback to throw for over 60,000 yards on a pass to wide receiver Puka Nacua.
“I’ve had a lot of good moments with him (Nacua), said Stafford. “I’m just excited that I’ll always remember that I threw it to him (pass for 60,000 yards). It was a cool moment. It’s awesome to go in there and I know our defense was feeding off that juice that they were bringing on that side of the ball.”
Offensively, the Titans are led by Tony Pollard, who rushed for 60 yards on 18 carries at Denver. He led the team in rushing last season with 1,079 yards, his third consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season. He ran for five touchdowns last year. He also caught 41 passes out of the backfield. Calvin Ridley and Chigoziem Okonkwo were Cam Wards top receivers in Week 1 with seven catches combined for a total of 46 yards.
Stafford on preparing for the Titans defense and defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons. “They’re a really physical defense. He’s obviously an unbelievable player inside. He does a hell of a job for them. He is really disruptive, strong, gets off on the count, physical, fast and plays with a nasty streak. There are a bunch of different things to look at on the back end and that’ll be a big challenge for us.”
There is some comfort for Rams fans thinking that the Titans match is a “trap” game. Since the 2017 season under McVay, the Rams have a 12-4 record when traveling to play on the East Coast for early 10 a.m. PT contests.