It was a fluke loss to the Carolina Panthers only because Matthew Stafford doesn’t turn the ball over as he did regularly. Additionally, Sunday’s loss isn’t who the Los Angeles Rams are. Should they have won? Yes, no question about it. Furthermore, they should have trounced the Panthers, even though they’re not the Panthers of the last few years.

The Rams offense has every capability to crush teams not on their level, and the Panthers are certainly not on their level. You know who is on LA’s level, though? The Seattle Seahawks. Now, the Seahawks’ pathway to win their division has just opened a little wider, thanks to the Rams’ defeat.

However, just because the door opened slightly doesn’t mean it will stay that way; it only means it did open, and Seattle will have to do something about it. That means beating the Atlanta Hawks next weekend, for starters. But more importantly, it means getting even with the Rams in Week 15.

Rams’ surprise loss breathes life into Seahawks’ NFC West chances

Despite the Rams’ loss and the Seahawks’ win over the Minnesota Vikings, and even though Seattle now mirrors LA’s 9-3 record, if the season ended today, the Seahawks would still be a wildcard team. Because the Rams have one game up on the Seahawks in the head-to-head, the Rams would take the division.

That being said, what the Rams’ loss gave the Seahawks was a chance to still finish the season with a division win and a No. 1 playoff seed. Of course, things would have to fall into place, and in Seattle’s favor.

Another Rams loss over the next month could help, but what would help even more is if the Seahawks take care of business on December 18th when they welcome their division rivals to Seattle for a rematch. The top seed in the conference is another thing, though. The Chicago Bears would have to fall off completely, for example.

Who knows what will become of the Philadelphia Eagles, as well. Right now, even with the loss to Carolina, the Rams look significantly better than the Eagles, and the Seahawks do too. Both NFC West teams will have their eyes not just on each other but also on the Bears.

The rematch between LA and Seattle is still a few weeks away, but for both teams, each game before then is equally important. Their rematch in Seattle could be the season’s biggest game for both teams, so get your popcorn ready.