COLUMN: How Davante Adams Lights Rams' Path to the Lombardi

The Los Angeles Rams have been a focused unit ever since the final seconds of the 2025 NFC Divisional Round playoff game against Philadelphia ticked off the clock. As Sean McVay made the dreaded walk after defeat, the team walked away with two critical lessons that day. They could've won the game had they had what they needed and what they needed wasn't hard to get.

That's exactly what the Rams did. They got chin checked by an Eagles crowd already inflamed by Jared Verse and when Jalen Hurts and Saquan Barkley took run after run to the house, there was every reason for them to falter. The Packers did the week before and the Commanders would the week after.

The Chiefs, so paranoid about the run, instructed their defense to stop it at the cost of their aerial defense and the Lombardi.

The Grit of the Rams

The Rams didn't. They came firing back, with Jared Verse leading the way. They put Jalen Hurts on the ground, Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp continued to pluck balls from the sky, and the secondary held up.

Through Braden Fiske's injury, Kyren Williams' fumble, the big runs, the Rams held on and had a shot to win it at the end. However, as soon as Stafford's fourth-down throw to Puka Nacua went awry, it was clear they needed a big-time, superstar threat and got it with Davante Adams.

Adams Leads the Way

Adams has been feeling like his usual self now with the Los Angeles sunshine on him, making the Cowboys look absolutely foolish in joint practice. Unlike against the Saints, Sean McVay dove into the playbook to give a little taste of what he's bringing this season.

Davante adam — Aug 14, 2025; Carson, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Davante Adams (17) during a joint practice against the New Orleans Saints at the Dignity Health Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Adams has been the quintessential number one target. The first read, even when he's not the first read, the man beating, press defeating, unable to be contained aerial threat that is able to flip the narrative of any ball game on it's head.

Now that Matthew Stafford is back, the duo have been working quickly and effectively to get back to the form they displayed during OTAs. They want a ring and they have what it takes to win it.

During OTAs, Adams told reporters that the Rams were a college-like team in terms of camaraderie but strictly business on the field. Stafford and Adams have worked tirelessly, even beyond the facility to win the Super Bowl both men need to finalize their Hall of Fame resumes.

Two for McVay wouldn't be too bad either. In this offense, it was always assumed that Puka Nacua would take the Cooper Kupp role, but what if there is no more Cooper Kupp role? It's clear Adams is the main target, so what if McVay, Stafford, and Adams have been designing their own offense, using concepts Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur's brother Matt modified from McVay's system in Green Bay to build the path to the endzone?

McVay builds systems around players, not positions. That's why Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson are having the success they're having in modified McVay systems.

No disrespect to Puka Nacua, a phenomenal player, but while Nacua certainly is a legitimate WR1, Adams is certainly not a WR2, and even Nacua would agree, considering he asked Adams to take a leadership role.

Whatever it is, Adams' relationship with his quarterback is the same relationship Stafford had with Kupp. Stafford and Adams are brilliant tacticians and field generals who are able to defeat defensive coverages by themselves. Nacua, being the humble player he is, is down for the cause, doing whatever it takes to win, always ready for the ball to come his way.

Tutu Atwell is the speed, and McVay has a rotation of tight ends designed to either force their way open or run freely to set up openings. Those elements create the space needed for Adams to find.

Now that we sit less than one week out before the Eagles open up the 2025 NFL season against the Cowboys, it's time to say the truth about the Rams' offense. They go where Davante Adams takes them.

Adams hasn't played in the postseason since the 49ers defeated his Packers before losing to the Rams in the NFC Championship Game. He's hungry, he's ready, and he has two football savants in Stafford and McVay laying down the foundation while Mike LaFleur and others draw the way.

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