The Los Angeles Rams continued to roll with a 41-34 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday, and in doing so, became the first NFC team to clinch a postseason berth.
The Rams are heading back to the playoffs for the third consecutive season. They advanced as a wild card team in 2023, and last year, won the NFC West for the first time since 2021.
The Rams still have a lot of work to do, but head coach Sean McVay is proud of his players for checking off an important item on their to-do list, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
“It’s great to be able to punch a ticket to the playoffs,” head coach Sean McVay said postgame. “That’s obviously always a goal, is to be able to give yourself a chance to play extra games after that, those 17 (games) that you’re guaranteed.”
After improving to 11-3, the Rams now turn their attention to a huge game against the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football.
The Rams can’t officially clinch the NFC West this week, but a win over their rival would give them a one-game lead with only two games to play.
L.A. is also trying to maintain the No. 1 seed in NFC, which would give them home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The ultimate goal is reaching Super Bowl LX, which will be held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., the home of the San Francisco 49ers.
Jared Goff no longer feels emotional charge playing against Rams
Sunday marked the fourth time that Jared Goff played against the Rams since he was dealt to the Lions in the Matthew Stafford trade. Goff faced the Rams for the first time in 2021 and lost, 28-19.
The teams then played in Detroit twice, once in the season opener last season — a 26-20 Lions win — and in the Wild Card round of the playoffs the year prior, a 24-23 win for Goff and Co.
With all those previous battles, and it having been years since the trade, Goff admitted the matchup doesn’t have the same emotion as it used to.
Goff played well in his return to L.A., completing 25 of his 41 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough to help the Lions defeat the Rams.
