The Rams have already played their Week 16 game, losing to the Seahawks on Thursday. This dropped L.A. to 11-4 and a wild card position going into next week’s game against the Falcons. How does the Sunday schedule impact the Rams?
Bucs at Panthers
The winner of this game lands the first blow to determine who wins the NFC South and potentially where the Rams will be headed in the wild card round of the playoffs if L.A. earns the 5-seed in the postseason.
Both teams are 7-7 and this is the first of two meetings in three weeks; Tampa Bay hosts the rematch in Week 18. So this is not the game that will determine who wins the NFC South but it will be a huge win for either of these teams.
Would you rather face the Bucs or the Panthers?
The Rams went 1-1 against these teams, losing to Carolina a few weeks ago. The Rams are in the 5-seed position now but if the 49ers win on Monday against the Colts, then L.A. slips to 6 and at that point would be in line to face the Eagles in Philadelphia instead.
Falcons at Cardinals
The Rams hold Atlanta’s first round pick in 2026, so they’re rooting for Arizona to improve that draft position. Coincidentally, these are also the last two teams on L.A.‘s schedule. What sort of team do the Rams want to face in Week 18? A motivated Cardinals team that maybe wants to get in another win or a dejected one if they lose here?
Steelers at Lions
The Rams already locked in their playoff seed, but Detroit hasn’t. The Lions need to win to stay alive and right now they’re 8-6, looking up at the Packers after Green Bay lost on Saturday and dropped to 9-5-1.
It’s still not out of the question that the Rams could win back the number one seed. In which case, they’re potentially very curious about who gets that last wild card spot. The Rams beat the Lions this year, so even if L.A. loses out and Detroit wins out, the Rams will still be ahead of them in the standings with the same final record.
Would you rather see the Lions make the playoffs or the Packers?
Monday: 49ers at Colts
The only other game this week that directly impacts the Rams doesn’t happen until Monday. The Rams are 11-4, the 49ers are 10-4. San Francisco has the advantage: They split the season series but also have a better division record than L.A. does. The 49ers can still win the division and the number one seed, but they have to win out.
If the 49ers win this game, then the Rams go into Week 17 as the six-seed.
