5 NFL teams that exceeded expectations in 2023

4. Los Angeles Rams: 10-7

The Los Angeles Rams are arguably as high on this list as any other team mainly due to their extremely low expectations heading into the season. Many analysts and fans believed the Rams would finish with the worst record in the NFL in 2023 and instead, clinched a playoff birth and was just a few plays away from defeating the Detroit Lions in the Wildcard round. The production and success that head coach Sean McVay and quarterback Mathew Stafford strung together from this roster cannot be overstated enough.

The Los Angeles Rams entered the season with the second-youngest roster in the NFL at an average age of 25.3 years old, just behind the Green Bay Packers. Considering they finished 10-7 with the ninth-toughest strength of schedule (.533) in the NFL and in a competitive NFC West division, I would consider the Rams to be massive overachievers this season. In a year that they were supposed to be operating in "rebuild mode", the Rams proved that they can still hang with the best.