Rams need to win and get some help in Week 17 to earn a playoff berth.
The Los Angeles Rams have a chance to clinch a playoff spot for the first time this season. That playoff spot would come in the form of the NFC West division title, but clinching in Week 17 would make for a much less stressful final week of the season. By already having a playoff spot locked up, the Rams could rest their starters in the final week of the season if seeding and opponent aren’t something they want to prioritize.
With both the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks losing last week makes clinching on Sunday much easier, but it will still take more than just a Rams win to lock up the playoff spot. Due to some strength of victory tiebreaks, the Seahawks can still have a chance to win the NFC West.
There are two ways that the Rams can win the NFC West and lock up a playoff spot in Week 17. The simplest way is to beat the Cardinals and for the Seahawks to lose to the Chicago Bears.
However, if both the Rams and Seahawks win, that’s where things get a little more complicated. Due to strength of victory, the Rams need wins from four of the teams below:
- Bengals win over the Broncos
- Commanders win over the Falcons
- Bills win over the Jets
- Vikings win over the Packers
- Browns win over the Dolphins
- 49ers win over the Lions
The good news is that all of those teams will be at home in Week 17 and four of the six teams are favored to win. However, it’s still far from a guarantee. A Bills win over the Jets should happen. With how the Bengals have looked recently, they should be able to beat the Broncos. Additionally, while the Commanders haven’t looked as good as they did early in the season, they will be playing Michael Penix in his second career start and have looked better than the Falcons.
If those results hold, the Rams would need just one of the Vikings, Broncos, or 49ers to win. The Vikings and Packers last played earlier in the season with quarterback Jordan Love making his first start in return from injury. It’s never easy to beat the same team twice in the same season, but the Vikings have been very solid all year.
In the case that the Vikings or one of the other three teams lose, the Rams would be hoping for an upset. If Dorian Thompson-Robinson is healthy, he’ll start for the Browns against the Dolphins. Thomas-Robinson was ineffective in his start last week. At that point, the Rams would be hoping for the 49ers to do something that they haven’t done most of the year and play up to their potential.
The Rams will be hoping for a stressful free in Week 18. At the end of the day, the Rams can only control what they can control which is focusing on beating the Cardinals. Everything after that, they will need some help.