Recreation replace (Saturday evening): The Rams gained, so that they solely want just a few extra Week 17 wins from some helpers to clinch a playoff spot.
Recreation replace (Saturday afternoon): The Cincinnati Bengals’ thrilling additional time win over the Denver Broncos is among the 3.5 wins the Los Angeles Rams must clinch the NFC West in Week 17, supplied they defeat the Arizona Cardinals tonight.
Saturday’s NFL tripleheader attracts to a detailed when the Arizona Cardinals tackle the Los Angeles Rams in an NFC West showdown at SoFi Stadium.
Whereas the Cardinals have already been eradicated from playoff competition, the Rams can clinch the NFC West — and eradicate the Seattle Seahawks from the postseason — with a win over Arizona, after which lots of assist.
Let’s break all of it down.
Rams playoff image
Coming into Week 17, the Rams had three pathways to clinching the NFC West title. The primary two required the Seahawks to lose on Thursday evening towards the Chicago Bears, however Seattle’s 6-3 victory erased these two pathways for Los Angeles.
They nonetheless have a approach they’ll clinch the division, but it surely will get us deep into the tiebreakers.
If the Rams lose on Saturday evening, the Week 18 sport between Seattle and Los Angeles is for the division title.
Nonetheless, if the Rams win, Seattle profitable on Thursday evening — and once more in Week 18 — is probably not sufficient to clinch the division title for the Seahawks. Why? A Seahawks Week 18 win on this situation would have each groups at 10-7. They might have cut up the season sequence (the primary tiebreaker), they might have the identical division document (the second tiebreaker), they might have the identical data in frequent video games (the third tiebreaker), and the identical document in NFC video games (the fourth tiebreaker).
That would go away the fifth tiebreaker, the unusual “power of victory” tiebreaker.
In the mean time, the Rams have the sting in that fifth tiebreaker, due to wins over the Buffalo Payments and the Minnesota Vikings. They will clinch that fifth tiebreaker — and the division — in the event that they get 3.5 wins from these groups over the remainder of Week 17: The Vikings (towards the Inexperienced Bay Packers), the Payments (towards the New York Jets), the San Francisco 49ers (towards the Detroit Lions), the Washington Commanders (towards the Atlanta Falcons), the Cincinnati Bengals (towards the Denver Broncos) and the Cleveland Browns (towards the Miami Dolphins).
If a mixture of 4 of these groups win, and the Rams win on Saturday evening, Los Angeles has gained the NFC West and the Seahawks are eradicated. Nonetheless, a Rams loss, or a Rams win plus three or much less of these groups profitable above, and the Week 18 sport between Seattle and Los Angeles is for the NFC West.
It is usually price noting that below tiebreaker procedures, a tie counts as a half-win. So technically Los Angeles wants three wins and a tie to clinch the fifth tiebreaker.
What Rams-Cardinals means for different NFC playoff hopefuls
The one different staff with a vested curiosity in Rams-Cardinals is Seattle. A Rams loss means Seattle can win the NFC West in Week 18 with a win over the Rams. A Los Angeles win then places these different video games — and the fifth tiebreaker — into play.
Tiebreaker implications
The principle tiebreaker implication from this sport pertains to the potential fifth tiebreaker situation between the Rams and the Seahawks.
