They didn’t whisper it. They didn’t pretend they were rebuilding. They printed it on T-shirts.
F them picks.
When Les Snead and Sean McVay traded two first rounders and more to Detroit for Matthew Stafford in January 2021, the message was clear. The Los Angeles Rams weren’t planning for five years from now. They were planning for February.
This wasn’t a patient build. It was a calculated gamble.
The Rams had already gone big before. Jalen Ramsey in 2019. Brandin Cooks before that. Von Miller midseason in 2021. Odell Beckham Jr. off the waiver wire when he was looking for a contender. The front office treated draft capital like currency, and they spent it aggressively because they believed the core was ready.
But the Stafford move was the fulcrum.
Jared Goff had taken them to Super Bowl LIII, but McVay wanted more control, more arm talent, more freedom in the offense. Stafford delivered immediately. In 2021, he threw for 4,886 yards and 41 touchdowns, unlocking an offense that suddenly felt dangerous from any point on the field. Cooper Kupp exploded for 145 catches, 1,947 yards, and 16 touchdowns, a triple crown season that doesn’t happen without that connection.
Still, it wasn’t smooth.
The Rams stumbled in November, losing three straight games and watching the NFC tighten. Critics started circling, pointing at the missing draft picks, questioning whether the roster was too top heavy. But that’s the thing about going all in. You accept the volatility.
In the playoffs, the bet came due.
They beat Arizona comfortably. They survived Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in a chaotic Divisional Round where the game nearly slipped away before Stafford found Kupp for the go ahead drive in the final seconds. Then came the NFC Championship against San Francisco, the team that had owned them in recent years. Down 17 to 7, the Rams didn’t flinch. Aaron Donald closed it out with pressure that forced the final interception, and suddenly the Super Bowl was coming to Los Angeles.
Super Bowl LVI wasn’t just another appearance. It was in their own stadium.
Against the Cincinnati Bengals on February 13, 2022, the Rams leaned into everything they’d built. Donald collapsing the pocket. Ramsey battling outside. Stafford throwing lasers in tight windows. After Beckham went down with injury, Kupp carried the offense, finishing with eight catches, 92 yards, and two touchdowns. The final drive, capped by Kupp’s touchdown with 1:25 left, was the embodiment of the entire philosophy.
Aggressive. Unapologetic. Unafraid.
When Donald pressured Joe Burrow on fourth down to seal the 23 to 20 win, it validated years of criticism and risk. The Rams didn’t follow the slow rebuild blueprint. They ignored it. They treated contention like a window that could slam shut at any moment and attacked it with everything they had.
The aftermath was predictable. Injuries. Cap strain. A 5 and 12 season in 2022. That’s the cost of pushing all your chips forward.
But here’s the truth Rams fans hold onto.
They didn’t mortgage the future for a hope. They cashed it in for a ring.
And that banner hangs forever.