The 2026 season will conclude with Super Bowl LXI being played on Valentine's Day.
Not too far into the offseason preceding that campaign, there appears to be no love lost between the Los Angeles Rams and the rest of the NFC West.
Rams safety Quentin Lake recently shared his feelings toward both the Seattle Seahawks -- newly Super Bowl LX champions -- and the San Francisco 49ers.
"Surprisingly, I don't hate [the Seahawks] as much as the Niners," Lake said on the Up & Adams Show. "I have more respect for them just because they play hard, and I know some guys over there, obviously, Ernest Jones and Cooper Kupp. Those are guys that I've been close with and guys that I've shed blood, sweat and tears with on the field, and been able to talk to. I obviously went against Cooper Kupp multiple times in practice. There was no bad blood at all. I mean, I don't have that same feeling. [I'm] just more disappointed it wasn't us."
The Rams played the Seahawks three times during the 2025 season and split their regular-season matchups held in Week 11 and Week 16. However, Seattle eventually got the last laugh by defeating the Rams in the NFC Championship Game for a trip to Super Bowl LX, where the Seahawks eventually lifted the franchise's second Lombardi Trophy.
Lake having a slight favorite could come as a surprise, especially with the Rams losing to Seattle in the NFC title game. But as the 2022 sixth-round pick alluded to, he teamed up with both Jones and Kupp in the past. He played with Jones for two seasons in L.A. from 2022-23 and was also teammates with Kupp before the wideout signed with Seattle in March 2025.
The Rams and the 49ers split their regular-season games in 2025, with each team winning on the road.
Despite the Rams falling short of the Super Bowl this season, Lake believes the returning cast of veterans like quarterback Matthew Stafford, wide receiver Davante Adams and others can still break through to reach that stage.
"Finish what we couldn't do this past year. That's it," Lake said regarding the team's goal for next season. "I'ma start doing it for everybody else. Everybody in the building knew how close we were and we felt like it, you know, if there was a couple things that we did better, it would have been us in Super Bowl 60. So, I'm more so doing it really for Stafford, coach (Sean) McVay, for Davante and all these older guys."
