The Falcons have been eliminated from playoff contention for weeks, but the Monday Night Football matchup between Atlanta and the Rams still had the potential to impact the NFC playoff picture, and particularly the NFC West. But for any of that to happen, the Rams needed to win. That didn’t happen.
With a win over Atlanta, the Rams’ record would have been 12-4, and a Week 18 win over the Arizona Cardinals would guarantee LA the No. 5 seed. In that case, the Rams would have been set to face the NFC South winner, either the Buccaneers or the Panthers, on the road. Meanwhile, whoever loses this week’s Seahawks-49ers matchup would have landed in the No. 6 seed and would face either the Eagles or the Bears in the Wild Card Round.
So the Rams stay in the No. 6 spot in the NFC playoff picture. If the Seahawks beat the 49ers in Week 18, and the Rams do beat the Cardinals, the Rams will take over the No. 5 spot thanks to a common opponents’ tiebreaker and the 49ers will be the six. Whereas if the 49ers win, the Seahawks will be the 5 an the Rams will be the 6 regardless of the outcome of the Cardinals game.
Here’s the updated playoff picture after Rams vs. Falcons and the rest of the Week 17 slate of games.
NFC West standings
- Seattle Seahawks 13-3
- San Francisco 49ers 12-4
- Los Angeles Rams 11-5
- Arizona Cardinals 3-13
Updated NFC playoff picture after Rams vs. Falcons
1. Seattle Seahawks (13-3) – Clinched playoff spotClinched NFC North
3. Philadelphia Eagles (11-5) – Clinched NFC East
4. Carolina Panthers (8-8)
5. San Francisco 49ers (12-4) – Clinched playoff spot
6. Los Angeles Rams (11-5) – Clinched playoff spot
7. Green Bay Packers (9-6-1) – Clinched playoff spot
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9)
