The Los Angeles Rams were officially eliminated from the NFC West race on Sunday with the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers both winning their respective games against the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears.
The Seahawks and 49ers will now play for the division on Saturday night in the regular-season finale at Levi’s Stadium.
It’s a disappointing outcome for the Rams, who were on track to clinch the No. 1 seed before their loss to the Seahawks in Week 16. L.A. will now have to settle for either No. 5 or 6 seed in the NFC playoffs.
In order to secure the No. 5 seed, the Rams will have to win their final two games against the Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals. They can also get the No. 5 seed with a win over the Cardinals and the Seahawks defeating the 49ers in Week 18.
In any of those scenarios, the Rams will face the winner of the NFC South — either the Panthers or Tampa Bay Buccaneers — on the road in the first round of the playoffs.
If the Rams lose any of their final two games of the regular season and the 49ers win in Week 18, they will fall to the No. 6 seed and travel to play the Philadelphia Eagles or Chicago Bears in the Wild Card round.
Given that they don’t have much to play for, it will be interesting to see if head coach Sean McVay decides to rest the team’s starters in their final game of the regular season against the Cardinals.
McVay has taken that approach in each of the last two seasons, opting to give key players a week off before they begin the playoffs.
Rams’ Puka Nacua hopes to learn from being fined by NFL
It has been a tough week for Rams star wide receiver Puka Nacua, who was fined $25,000 by the NFL after publicly criticizing officials. The 24-year-old hopes to learn from the experience and never make that mistake again.
“That one, it definitely hurt,” Nacua said of being fined by the NFL. “I think it was something I was expecting. It was a learning moment and an experience to learn from and to never let happen again.
“There are going to be moments of frustration later on in my career whether it’s ups and downs on my personal half or on the team’s half so being able to manage those emotions and send that energy in the right direction.”
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