As the Week 12 action continues on Sunday morning in the Pacific time zone, the Rams are in strong position in the NFC playoff picture.
At 10-1, Los Angeles has a chance to clinch a division title — despite the fact L.A. will not play this week. If Seattle loses to Carolina on Sunday, the Rams win the NFC West. With 10 wins already, the worst Los Angeles can finish this season is 10-6. Seattle is currently 5-5, and a sixth loss will take the club out of the division race because the Seahawks lost both matchups to the Rams in 2018 — giving L.A. the tiebreaker.
But even if the Rams clinch with a Seattle L on Sunday, there’s much more for Los Angeles to play for in the rest of the season. The Rams and Saints are currently atop the NFC, each sporting a record of 10-1. But because L.A. lost to New Orleans a few weeks ago, the Saints own the tiebreaker — meaning they would be the No. 1 seed and get home-field advantage throughout the postseason if the regular season ended today.
If the Saints win their last five games, they’ll be the NFC’s No. 1 seed. But even as well as they’re playing, the Saints would have a tough road to do so. They take on Dallas, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Carolina again for their last five games.
Still, at this point, the Rams are the NFC’s No. 2 seed and appear to be in strong position to claim a first-round bye. The Bears are No. 3 in the conference with at 8-3, having defeated the Lions on Thursday. And the Cowboys currently lead the NFC East at 6-5, having defeated Washington on Thursday.
The Rams will play the Bears for Sunday Night Football in Week 14, in a game that could potentially clinch a first-round bye for Los Angeles.
That, however, depends on L.A. first taking care of business next week when the club plays Detroit on the road. Should the Rams enter Week 14 at 11-1 and defeat the Bears, they would secure the first-round bye through owning the head-to-head tiebreaker.
In other words, it’s a bit complicated, but Los Angeles is in a great spot to be playing football in January.