Can the Rams Go 17-0? Former NFL GM Calls Them Best Team in NFC ‘By Far’

As the Los Angeles Rams get closer to the beginning of the 2026 season, it is worth wondering just how good this team can be. While ‘Super Teams’ don’t necessarily exist in the NFL, the Rams might be the closest thing to that since the 2007 New England Patriots. That Patriots team went 16-0 and was eventually taken down in the Super Bowl by the New York Giants.

Since the NFL shifted to a 17-game season in 2021, the best record a team has posted is 15-2, and only two teams have achieved that. In 2024, the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs each went 15-2.

17-0 or missing playoffs more likely for the Rams? @Chris_Broussard answers:

“I don’t expect either to happen, but of the two which is more likely? 17-0 baby. I cannot see this team, healthy, missing the playoffs. They are stacked.” pic.twitter.com/8uoLqGceaA
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) August 31, 2026

A team going 17-0 seems almost unheard of in the current NFL landscape. Only the 1973 Miami Dolphins and 2007 Patriots have accomplished the perfect regular season. However, if there is a team that is built to do it, it’s this Rams team.

The Athletic’s Mike Sando recently polled NFL executives to rank their best teams in the NFC. Coming in at number one was the Rams.

"I think they are the best team in the NFC by far," a former general manager said. "Beyond all the defensive additions, Matthew Stafford is just surgical. So impressive."

If we played the entire season from today 10 times, the Rams probably win the Super Bowl in three or four of them.

So for everyone else, the goal is to be one of the other seven and see where the chips fall. https://t.co/JQURdD8hdT
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) September 1, 2026

Can the Rams Overcome a Difficult 2026 Schedule?

It may seem unlikely that the Rams can go 17-0 for the simple fact that their schedule is so difficult. Based on 2025 team records, the Rams have the 13th-hardest schedule with an average opponents’ win percentage of 0.516. In 2007, the Patriots actually had the third-hardest strength of schedule based on their opponents’ previous season’s win percentage of 0.541.

Common logic would suggest that it’s probably unlikely the Rams go undefeated. There’s a reason only two teams have ever done it. However, the Rams have built themselves a talent gap. They are the only team ever with the defending MVP and defending Defensive Player of the Year on the same roster. Even if Aaron Donald is 70 percent the player that he was, he’s still arguably one of the best depth players on a defensive line in the NFL. The Rams were a Super Bowl team before adding Donald and he only makes them better.

“I would say there is a clear gap with the return of Aaron Donald," said one voter in Sando’s poll. Another NFL executive said, “I think Myles Garrett puts them over the top.”

What Makes a 17-0 Season Possible for the Rams?

If the Rams can get through the first five weeks of the season, their odds of going undefeated would increase. However, those first five weeks will be difficult. The Rams play the Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles on the road before playing the Buffalo Bills. There’s a chance all three of those teams are top-four teams in their respective conferences and an argument could be made that all three are Super Bowl contenders.

While game spreads don’t mean a lot, all four of those games have a spread of three points or less. Essentially, those games are seen as coin flips at this point.

The next tough stretch for the Rams will come in November when they play the Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, and Seattle Seahawks all back-to-back. It helps that three of those games will be at home, but it’s still a brutal stretch.

The Rams Have Built a Significant Talent Gap

That’s not to say that it isn’t within the realm of possibilities, but it would be insanely difficult. It can sometimes get underappreciated how difficult it is to win a Super Bowl and how many bounces typically have to go a team’s way for it to happen. In 2007, the Patriots only had four one-score games. The Rams played that many in the first five weeks last year.

An argument can be made that the Rams have one of the strongest rosters built in recent memory. However, games aren’t won on paper, and the Rams understand that. They’ll need to take care of business and stay healthy.

Going 17-0 remains extremely unlikely, but it’s also a testament to how strong this roster is and the job that both Les Snead and Sean McVay have done. This is a rare team talented enough that talking about 17-0 doesn’t seem crazy. If the Rams can get through their early tests, an undefeated season could quickly become one of the biggest storylines.

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