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When standard offensive metrics look at a drive, they heavily weigh high-drama, late-down moments. If a team converts a third-and-long, traditional numbers love it.
But a new analytical chart completely flips that perspective. Data scientist Steven Patton created a FRAME score, which stands for First-down Rhythm And Movement Efficiency, that uses a bowling-style framework to reward offenses that pick up "strikes" and "spares" by gaining first downs on early downs, rather than relying on late-down conversions to stay alive. It also rewards explosive chunk plays by crediting extra yardage gained beyond the sticks as a share of the remaining distance to the end zone.
It should come as no surprise, then, that the Rams rank highly in FRAME relative to overall offensive success rate. Not only did the Rams' offense succeed across the board in 2025, but they did so with a mediocre 39.6% third-down conversion rate (ranking 17th) and a 66.7% fourth-down conversion rate (tied for 5th). In traditional late-down metrics, they look mortal.
But it's because of this that the Rams ranked so highly. L.A. had just 192 third-down attempts all year — tied for the second-fewest in the NFL — but they racked up a league-leading 396 total first downs.
That elite efficiency was fueled by dominant early-down execution. Los Angeles operated as the best early-down rushing team in the NFL, consistently churning out heavy yardage on first and second down to pick up effortless first downs.
By staying perfectly on schedule and chewing up chunks of yardage without forcing Matthew Stafford into predictable passing situations, McVay's squad established the most rhythm-heavy, movement-efficient offense in football. And that bodes well for 2026 with all of the major players back for another shot at a Super Bowl.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: New efficiency metric shows how the Rams' offense dominated in 2025
Continue reading...
But a new analytical chart completely flips that perspective. Data scientist Steven Patton created a FRAME score, which stands for First-down Rhythm And Movement Efficiency, that uses a bowling-style framework to reward offenses that pick up "strikes" and "spares" by gaining first downs on early downs, rather than relying on late-down conversions to stay alive. It also rewards explosive chunk plays by crediting extra yardage gained beyond the sticks as a share of the remaining distance to the end zone.
It should come as no surprise, then, that the Rams rank highly in FRAME relative to overall offensive success rate. Not only did the Rams' offense succeed across the board in 2025, but they did so with a mediocre 39.6% third-down conversion rate (ranking 17th) and a 66.7% fourth-down conversion rate (tied for 5th). In traditional late-down metrics, they look mortal.
But it's because of this that the Rams ranked so highly. L.A. had just 192 third-down attempts all year — tied for the second-fewest in the NFL — but they racked up a league-leading 396 total first downs.
That elite efficiency was fueled by dominant early-down execution. Los Angeles operated as the best early-down rushing team in the NFL, consistently churning out heavy yardage on first and second down to pick up effortless first downs.
By staying perfectly on schedule and chewing up chunks of yardage without forcing Matthew Stafford into predictable passing situations, McVay's squad established the most rhythm-heavy, movement-efficient offense in football. And that bodes well for 2026 with all of the major players back for another shot at a Super Bowl.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: New efficiency metric shows how the Rams' offense dominated in 2025
Continue reading...
