It wasn’t long ago that the Los Angeles Rams repeating as NFC West champions seemed like a lock. But as the 2025 NFL season has proven time and again, situations can change in an instant.
The Rams were rolling at 9-2 but squandered a fourth-quarter lead against the Carolina Panthers in Week 13 and dropped a 31-28 decision, ending their six-game winning streak. The Seattle Seahawks routed the Minnesota Vikings 26-0 that day to pull even with Los Angeles atop the division and both clubs won their next two contests, setting up a huge showdown in Week 16.
Having already beaten the Seahawks at home in Week 11, the Rams could have taken a major step toward securing their 16th NFC West title by sweeping the season series. However, they let a 16-point lead with just over eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter slip away and were unable to stop Seattle after beginning overtime with a touchdown, allowing the Seahawks to post a 38-37 victory and climb into the driver’s seat in the division.
Los Angeles (11-4) still can capture the NFC West crown — and even the No. 1 seed in the conference — but it first will need help this Sunday from either the Panthers or Chicago Bears — or both. Carolina hosts Seattle (12-3) and Chicago visits the San Francisco 49ers (11-4), who own the tiebreaker with the Rams. If the Seahawks and 49ers both win their Week 17 matchups, it would render Los Angeles’ meeting with the Atlanta Falcons (6-9) at 8:15 p.m. ET on Monday Night Football meaningless when it comes to the division title.
However, the door would remain open for Los Angeles with a loss by at least one of its division rivals. The Rams then would need to defeat Atlanta — as well as the Arizona Cardinals in their regular-season finale — and have whichever team won in Week 17 lose in the Week 18 showdown between Seattle and San Francisco.
It may seem like a tall order, but the Seahawks are on the road Sunday against a Carolina team that is battling the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the NFC South title and the 49ers host a Chicago squad that may require a victory to clinch the NFC North and also is in contention for the No. 1 seed in the conference. With much at stake for both the Panthers and Bears, winning in Week 17 will be anything but an easy task for Seattle and San Francisco.
On the other hand, while a win is never a given in the NFL, the Rams have a much easier job ahead of them. Atlanta has posted back-to-back victories after losing seven of its previous eight games, but one of those triumphs came against Arizona last week. That defeat was the seventh in a row and 12th in 13 contests for the Cardinals, who got off to a promising 2-0 start this season.
Even if the Rams receive the help they need on Sunday, SportsLine’s Inside the Lines team believes their outlook for a second straight NFC West title wouldn’t improve a great deal with a victory on Monday Night Football. According to the ITL team’s model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, Los Angeles currently has about a 22% chance to win the division, and it would only improve by around 10% with a triumph over Atlanta.
CHANCES OF WINNING NFC WEST
TEAM
CURRENT
WITH WEEK 17 WIN
WITH WEEK 17 LOSS
DIFFERENCE
Los Angeles Rams
22.1%
32.4%
0.0%
32.4%
Seattle Seahawks
49.0%
63.6%
24.3%
39.3%
San Francisco 49ers
28.9%
44.9%
7.0%
37.9%
The model also believes that the team that finishes first in the NFC West will be the top-seeded playoff team in the conference as well.Â
CHANCES TO BE NO. 1 SEED IN NFC
TEAM
CURRENT ODDS
Seattle Seahawks
44.7%
San Francisco 49ers
25.1%
Los Angeles Rams
18.7%
Chicago Bears
11.3%
0.1%
The Rams pose a major problem for opposing defenses as they top the NFL in both total offense (396.7 yards) and scoring (30.5 points), rank second in passing (270.5 yards) and are fifth in rushing (126.3). They possess an aerial attack that is led by Matthew Stafford, who leads the league with 4,179 passing yards and 40 touchdown tosses, and includes wide receivers Davante Adams (first with 14 TD catches) and Puka Nacua (second with 1,592 receiving yards).
Containing that trio is a tall order for any defense, even an Atlanta unit that is eighth in the NFL against the pass (195.1 yards allowed). The Rams own a 49-28-2 all-time record against the Falcons in the regular season and won the last two meetings between the teams, including a 31-27 home triumph in 2022 in which Stafford threw for 272 yards and three touchdowns.
Los Angeles, which still has the No. 5 seed in the conference for which to play should the NFC West title and top seed be out of the question, is a 7.5-point favorite against Atlanta in the latest NFL odds at DraftKings. The ITL team’s model is predicting a 30-21 victory by the Rams, which would keep them alive in the race for the division crown should Seattle and/or San Francisco lose in Week 17.