We’re on the other side of all but one game of the final week of the season, and the Rams now know where they stand heading into the postseason.
Entering the week, the Rams were slotted in at the No. 6 Wild Card spot, and coming into Sunday, the Rams knew they just had to knock off the Cardinals The Seahawks won on Saturday, a 13-3 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, which was the first box that needed to be checked if LA is to lock up the NFC’s fifth seed. Now the Rams will travel on Wild Card weekend to face the four-seed, which will be the Carolina Panthers. The Buccaneers were penciled into that spot after Saturday afternoon’s win over the Panthers, but Tampa Bay needed the Falcons to lose to the Saints on Sunday to cement their NFC South win. The Falcons pulled out a tight win, 19-17, handing the NFC South to Carolina.
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The Rams and 49ers both finished with 12-5 record, but LA gets the higher seed thanks to the win percentage in common games tiebreaker.
This may sound counterintuitive to Rams fans, but it is better for LA that the Seahawks won. A Niners win or a Cardinals win would have put the Rams in position to stay in the sixth seed, and that would have involved traveling to face the Eagles or the Bears. It goes without saying that taking on a just-under-.500 Panthers squad is, at least on paper, an easier draw for the postseason, and now we know that’s where the Rams are headed.
Here are the updated standings before Saturday’s games kick off in Week 18.
NFC West standings
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Updated NFC playoff picture
1. Seattle Seahawks (14-3) – Clinched NFC West, top seed
2. Chicago Bears (11-5) – Clinched NFC North
3. Philadelphia Eagles (11-5) – Clinched NFC East
4. Carolina Panthers (8-9) – Clinched NFC South
6. Los Angeles Rams (12-5)
7. San Francisco 49ers (12-5)
7. Green Bay Packers (9-7-1)