Entering Week 16, the Los Angeles Rams had an golden opportunity to solidify their position in the NFC West standings as they went on the road to take on the New York Jets.
It wasn’t the sharpest game from the Rams as they fell behind early to the struggling Jets, but the defense came up big in the second half to seal the victory and improve the team’s record to 9-6. It marked Los Angeles’ fourth consecutive win but more importantly allowed them to remain in first place in the division.
However, that wasn’t the only good news the Rams received on Sunday as they also saw the Arizona Cardinals lose in overtime to the Carolina Panthers, while the Seattle Seahawks lost at home to the Minnesota Vikings. The Cardinals dropped to 7-8 while the Seahawks now sit at 8-7.
Los Angeles’ win and Arizona’s loss eliminated the latter from playoff contention, leaving Seattle as the lone team that can threaten the Rams for the division title. The San Francisco 49ers were also eliminated from making the playoffs after the Washington Commanders came back to beat the Philadelphia Eagles.
Now, L.A. owns a one-game lead over Seattle and can clinch the NFC West as early as Week 17. In order to accomplish this, the Rams need to beat the Cardinals while the Seahawks need to lose to the Chicago Bears.
The Rams play on Saturday, but the Seahawks will see the Bears on the road on Thursday Night Football so the former will know whether they can clinch the division before kick off. While Chicago has hardly been impressive during the 2024 season, they won’t be a team that Seattle can take lightly as they’ve been competitive in recent weeks.
If Seattle finds a way lose, then Los Angeles will be able to rest its starters in Week 18 when the two teams face off. However, if both teams win in Week 17 then there will be tiebreaker implications for the matchup. That would come down to strength of record, which the Rams are leading in currently but won’t be officially decided until the end of the regular season. Here is a breakdown of which games will benefit the Rams:
Rams scenarios to win the NFC West this week:
SEA loss/tie (at CHI Thurs) + LA win over ARI
— or —
Rams win + 4 wins from this group, all playing at home:
CIN (Sat) vs Broncos
WAS vs Falcons
BUF vs Jets
MIN vs Packers
CLE vs Dolphins
SF (Mon) vs Lions— J.B. Long (@JB_Long) December 24, 2024
Regardless, what head coach Sean McVay and the team have done the past month is nothing short of impressive. Not many people expected the Rams to make the postseason after starting the regular season 1-4, but now it’s nearly a lock they qualify assuming they take care of business.
Sean McVay says being first in NFC West doesn’t change anything for Rams
Sean McVay understands full well that things are far from settled as it pertains to the playoff race, so he emphasized that nothing changes for the Rams despite sitting in first in the NFC West standings.
