The Rams’ 2024 playoff exit didn’t feel like a typical loss. It felt personal. Late in the fourth at Lincoln Financial, the Rams were right there, within reach. Stafford was dialing it up, Kupp was heating up, and the defense was doing just enough to keep Philly honest. But then? One busted run fit. One missed assignment. And just like that, Saquon Barkley hits his jets for a back-breaking 62-yard touchdown. 28-22 win for the Rams. And that loss? It lingers.

As the 2025 season edges closer, revenge is the theme inside the Rams’ locker room. Kobie Turner hasn’t let go of that heartbreak, and he’s already circling a key date on this year’s calendar. But before that moment can come, he and the rest of Sean McVay’s squad are being reminded of something far more pivotal: there’s a sour truth about the road ahead, and it might hit harder than last January ever did.

As Kobie Turner dreams about getting payback on the team that dashed their playoff hopes in 2024, someone just dropped a cold splash of reality: Revenge only matters if you make it to January in the first place. And right now? That’s far from guaranteed. In a recent episode of The Philly Talk Podcast, the host gave Kobie a big reality check. “We’re going to beat the Rams, for sure. But they don’t only need to focus on week 3; they also need to focus on weeks 1 and 2. You gotta get to the playoffs if you wanna get a chance at revenge for the Eagles,” he said.

In other words? Pump the brakes. Sure, that Week 3 showdown with the Eagles is the one everyone’s eyeing, and yeah, it’s personal. But before the Rams can talk revenge, they’ve got to get through a brutal early-season gauntlet. And let’s be honest—it’s far from a sure thing.

The Rams kick off 2025 with a sneaky-tough two-game stretch: a road trip to Seattle in Week 1, followed by a home opener against an up-and-coming Bears squad in Week 2. Don’t let the names fool you. Seattle barely missed the playoffs last year and now comes in with a healthy backfield and a retooled offense. And Chicago? With Caleb Williams under center and a revamped defense, that one has “trap game” written all over it.

So, no. Week 3 isn’t the “revenge tour” checkpoint just yet. It might be survival mode. This isn’t the same Rams team that went on that red-hot run last December. Aaron Donald calling it a career? It’s an entire identity shift. Now it’s Kobie Turner’s show up front, and yeah, he balled out last year (9 sacks, 16 QB hits). But going from “promising young guy” to “anchor of the D-line” overnight? That’s a massive leap.

The Rams were 10-7 last season, a record that only barely secured a playoff spot thanks to tiebreakers. They’re not in the same tier as teams like San Francisco or Detroit just yet. That’s what makes this “reality check” so relevant. You want revenge? You better survive the war first. But Kobie Turner doesn’t seem to care.

Kobie Turner has one date circled

While most analysts are preaching patience, “one game at a time” and all that, Kobie Turner clearly isn’t wired that way. The 26-year-old has become a cornerstone of Sean McVay’s post-Aaron Donald defense. And that playoff collapse against Philly? He has embraced it. In fact, he is weaponizing it.

“I’ve had that loss in the back of my mind. I definitely have week 3 circled. Even in the individual training right now, we are breaking down this is how some of the offensive lineman for the Eagles block, and this is how we will defeat that,” he said. The man is stepping up. And why wouldn’t he? He racked up All-Rookie honors last season, finishing second in total pressures among first-year interior linemen. And he knows he didn’t step up in that loss.

“The thing that got us last year was that there were a couple of big runs. We stopped them for the most part, but a couple of those runs is why we lost,” he said. The Eagles piled up over 170 yards on the ground, and D’Andre Swift ripped off a couple of back-breaking runs that flipped the field. It wasn’t all on Turner, but let’s be real: that was his moment to shine, and he couldn’t capitalize on it.

Still, like we’ve talked about, none of that passion means much if the Rams come out flat to start the year. Turner can circle Week 3 on his calendar all he wants, but if L.A. rolls into that matchup 0-2, everything falls apart. And that’s what makes this whole thing so compelling. Turner’s laser-focused on redemption, but before he gets that shot at the Eagles, he might have to drag this defense through the trenches just to keep the season afloat.