Rams rooting guide: Which Week 17 games could impact LA?

After a devastating collapse against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 16, the Los Angeles Rams lost control of the NFC West lead and the No. 1 seed. Paired with wins by the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers, the week was about as bad as it could’ve been for the Rams.

Entering Week 17, they’re currently the No. 6 seed in the NFC, but simply winning their last two games will ensure they’re no worse than the No. 5 seed when the playoffs begin. But they’d much rather jump up to No. 2 as the NFC West champions or even No. 1 to secure a first-round bye.

They’ll just need some help in order for either of those things to happen. Only two games this weekend will have a notable impact on the Rams’ playoff seeding: Panthers-Seahawks and Bears-49ers. There are also two other games that Los Angeles hopes will fall the right way: Ravens-Packers and Lions–Vikings.

Seahawks at Panthers (1 p.m. ET Sunday)

Who to root for: Panthers

The Rams need the Seahawks to lose at least one more game, and they’d probably rather Seattle get it out of the way this week. As unlikely as that may seem, the Panthers upset the Rams in Charlotte so they’re certainly capable of doing the same to a Seahawks team that almost lost to Philip Rivers.

If the Panthers win, the Rams’ odds for the No. 1 seed increase from 19% to 48%, while a win by Seattle drops those odds to only 8%. Plus, if both the Seahawks and 49ers win on Sunday, the Rams will be eliminated from the NFC West race and No. 1 seed contention before even playing on Monday night.

This is a big game for Carolina, too, which is trying to stave off the Buccaneers in the NFC South race. So the Panthers will be giving the Seahawks everything they’ve got in Week 17.

Bears at 49ers (8:20 p.m. ET Sunday)

Who to root for

For No. 1 seed: 49ers (if Panthers win), Bears (if Seahawks win)

For NFC West title: Bears

This game has a much less clear-cut side to root for. Why? Because the Rams want (and need) both teams to lose. That’s not possible, unfortunately, but the good news is that if the Panthers win earlier on Sunday, the Rams’ odds to earn the No. 1 seed are going to increase from 19% no matter who wins between the 49ers and Bears.

If the Panthers win in the afternoon, the Rams should be pulling for the 49ers – as crazy and difficult as that sounds. That’s because their odds to win the No. 1 seed increase to 49% if the 49ers win, or 40% if the Bears win, according to The Athletic. However, if the Rams are only gunning for the NFC West title, the Bears winning no matter what happens in Seahawks-Panthers would be the better option for the Rams.

If the Seahawks win on Sunday, the Rams must pull for a Bears win. A win by the 49ers on Sunday night would then prevent the Rams from winning the NFC West and thus, contending for the No. 1 seed. They’d be locked into a wild-card berth.

The most important game is the Seahawks-Panthers matchup, which is also the least likely to go the Rams’ way. But Bears-49ers will also impact the Rams in one way or another.

Lions at Vikings (4:30 p.m. ET Thursday)Ravens at Packers (8 p.m. ET Saturday)

Who to root for: Lions and Ravens

These last two games are directly connected, but there’s only a slim chance either one will affect the Rams. The Lions need a win and a Packers loss in order to keep their playoff hopes alive. How does that impact the Rams? Because if the Rams want the No. 1 seed and the Bears win on Sunday night, they’ll need Chicago to lose in Week 18.

Who does Chicago play in the finale? The Lions. If the Lions lose or the Packers win this week, Detroit will have nothing to play for in Week 18. That doesn’t mean Dan Campbell would pull his starters or take the week off, but ideally, the Lions would try to win that game and take down the Bears.

This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: LA Rams rooting guide: NFL games that could impact seeding in Week 17

Rams rooting guide: Which Week 17 games could impact LA?

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