What do the Rams need to do to be in first place?
The Los Angeles Rams are one game behind the Seattle Seahawks for the lead in the NFC West. If the Rams beat the Bills next week and improve to 7-6, they could be in a three-way tie for the division lead if the Arizona Cardinals beat the Seahawks.
Then all three teams would be 7-6 and nobody would have a head-to-head tiebreaker advantage.
The first tiebreaker would be division record and the Cardinals would be in the lead if they beat Seattle next week. These are the current division records:
- Cardinals 2-1
- Rams 2-1
- Seahawks 2-2
- 49ers 1-3
The 5-6 49ers play the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night, so they would need a win also to keep pace in the division standings.
The Rams have been outscored by 36 points, by far the worst point differential in the division pending Sunday Night Football.
But point differential plays no part in division standings or tiebreakers.
If the Rams lose next week, there would be no way to catch up to first in the NFC West. And if the Rams win next week, they still need to beat the 49ers in Week 15 for it to matter. The Rams close out their schedule with the Jets, Cardinals, and Seahawks. So the biggest games are yet to come, but L.A. has to keep winning for those results to matter.
The Rams beat the Seahawks 26-20 in overtime, but lost to the Cardinals 41-10 in Week 2. They also have a win over San Francisco.