Laying out the Rams’ path to each of their 4 wild-card opponents
Even after a dramatic Saturday in the NFL where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Carolina Panthers and the Seattle Seahawks took down the San Francisco 49ers, the Los Angeles Rams still don’t know their playoff seed or wild-card opponent.
There are still a lot of things to sort out on the final day of the regular season and the Rams aren’t in control of everything. They’re fortunate that the Seahawks won, which gives Los Angeles a chance to clinch the No. 5 seed and face the NFC South in the first round, but the Rams still don’t know who their first-round opponent will be.
There are four possible scenarios for them on Sunday, two if they win and two if they lose. As heavy favorites over the Arizona Cardinals, they should win and secure the fifth seed. But nothing is certain in the NFL, as we’ve witnessed week after week and year after year.
What we do know is the Rams will be the No. 5 seed with a win or the No. 6 seed with a loss on Sunday, so they do control their fate in that regard. And they should know what an advantage it would be to face the NFC South champion instead of the Chicago Bears or Philadelphia Eagles.
5. Rams vs. 4. Panthers
Rams win + Falcons win
If the Rams win and the Falcons win, the Panthers still get in as the NFC South champion despite losing to the Bucs on Saturday. Based on the odds, this is the likeliest outcome because the Rams are favored by 13.5 and the Falcons are 3.5-point favorites over the Saints.
The Falcons and Saints play at 1 p.m. ET so the Rams will know their wild-card opponent in the event that they beat Arizona at 4:25 p.m. ET.
5. Rams vs. 4. Buccaneers
Rams win + Falcons lose or tie
If the Saints pull off the upset over the Falcons and the Rams beat the Cardinals, it’ll be LA vs. Tampa Bay in the wild-card round. The Rams beat the Bucs 34-7 in November so they wouldn’t complain about that matchup.
6. Rams vs. 3. Eagles
Rams lose + Bears win OR Eagles lose
The Rams would probably prefer to avoid the Eagles in Round 1, and they’ll only face the defending champs if they lose and either the Bears win over the Lions or the Eagles lose to the Commanders. It’s hard to see L.A. losing to the Cardinals but it is worth noting that the Eagles are resting their starters, so they could very well drop Sunday’s game.
6. Rams vs. 3. Bears
Rams lose + Eagles win + Bears lose
If the Rams lose and the Eagles overtake the Bears with a win and a loss by Chicago, the Rams will face the Bears in Round 1. It wouldn’t be ideal, but Chicago is beatable and the Rams would certainly be favored in that one.
