Thanks to a win over the 49ers and the Seahawks' Sunday Night Football loss to the Packers, the Rams have entered the playoff picture going into Week 16.
Here's what that full playoff picture looks like and how various Week 16 matchups – including the Rams against the Jets at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. – will impact that movement within not only the division, but that postseason picture as well.
No. 1 seed - Detroit Lions
The Lions lost only their second game of the season in a 48-42 thriller to the Bills. Although 12-2 overall, their 8-1 conference record gives them a narrow tiebreaker over the 12-2 Eagles, who have a 7-2 conference record.
Detroit has already clinched a playoff berth.
No. 2 seed - Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia is in contention for the No. 1 seed thanks to its Week 15 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit's home loss to the Buffalo Bills.
The Eagles have already clinched a playoff berth.
No. 3 seed - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs are also 8-6 overall like the Rams, but have a better conference record, hence holding the tiebreaker over the Rams for the No. 3 seed.
No. 4 seed - Los Angeles Rams
As mentioned above, their Thursday Night Football win over the 49ers and the Seahawks' loss to the Packers moved the Rams into the fourth seed in the conference and the first-place team in the NFC West.
No. 5 seed – Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota clinched a playoff berth with Green Bay's win at Seattle Sunday night.
The Vikings defeated the Chicago Bears 30-12 on Monday Night Football to move to 12-2 overall, but still remain the No. 5 seed because Detroit holds the head-to-head tiebreaker from its 31-29 win in Minneapolis on Oct. 20.
No. 6 seed – Green Bay Packers
The Packers remained in the Wild Card hunt with their road win over the Seahawks on Sunday Night Football.
No. 7 seed - Washington Commanders
Washington survived a 20-19 nail-biter against New Orleans – the Saints went for two and the win, but the attempt failed at the end of the game – to secure a victory that keeps them in the Wild Card mix.
Key Week 16 matchups
Let's start with the Rams. Simply put, a win over the Jets is needed to control their own playoff fate and remain in the postseason picture. A loss to the Jets would mean needing help elsewhere to remain in first place in the division (more on those scenarios below).
As for other games to keep an eye on:
- Cardinals at Panthers (10 a.m. PT, FOX): Arizona defeated New England 30-17 last week to remain in the hunt at 7-7 overall. A Cardinals loss – coupled with a Rams win – would give both the Rams and Seahawks some separation from the Cardinals in the division standings. A Cardinals win, along with losses by the Seahawks and Rams, would create a logjam of three 8-7 teams going into Week 17.
- Vikings at Seahawks (1:05 p.m. PT, FOX): Seattle is on the outside looking in, but just barely, as they are the first team outside the top seven. A Seahawks loss – coupled with a Los Angeles win – would help give L.A. some separation from Seattle both in the division and the playoff picture. A Seahawks win and a Rams loss would move Seattle back into first place and have the Rams on the outside looking in. Losses by both the Seahawks and the Rams, along with a loss by the Cardinals, would give the Seahawks and Rams identical 8-7 records, but the Rams would still be in first place because they own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Seahawks.
- Buccaneers at Cowboys (5:20 p.m. PT, NBC): Sunday Night Football will carry weight for the Rams for the second-straight week. A Bucs loss – coupled with a Rams win over the Jets – would move the Rams into the No. 3 seed, since they would have a 9-6 overall record to the Bucs' 8-7. A Bucs win and a Rams win would leave each team in the No. 3 seed and No. 4 seed, respectively.
