With the San Francisco 49ers beating the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football, the Los Angeles Rams have officially been eliminated from contention for winning the NFC West division. The Rams will either be the 5-seed or the 6-seed, and historically those kind of differences have meant little or nothing to head coach Sean McVay. Without anything else on the line, should McVay start resting starters like Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua as early as Monday night against the Atlanta Falcons?
That’s a question that will linger on the Rams until Monday night, but the consequences of playing starters and one of them being injured is something that could haunt McVay if he doesn’t play the safe route. McVay almost always chooses the safe route with starters.
If the Rams beat the Falcons on Monday and then the Arizona Cardinals next Sunday, it guarantees that L.A. will be the 5-seed and face the winner of the NFC South. That will be determined by who wins the Bucs-Panthers game next Saturday, unless the Falcons win their remaining two games, then Carolina is the division winner.
Of course, if the Rams lose to the Falcons, it opens them up for the six-seed.
If the Rams lose to the Falcons and beat the Cardinals, plus the 49ers beat the Seahawks, then L.A. slips to the six-seed. That puts the Rams on the road and instead of facing the winner of the NFC South, they will face either the Eagles or the Bears; most likely the Eagles.
Is it worth it to Sean McVay to risk the health of his starters to try and guarantee a wild card game in Tampa Bay or Carolina rather than having to go to Philadelphia or Chicago?
We will know by Monday night.
The Seahawks and 49ers face off for the NFC West title and number one seed on Saturday night.
