After an unforgettable 54-51 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, the Los Angeles Rams headed into their bye week feeling good. They owned the best record in football, held the No. 1 seed and had a good chance to clinch the NFC West despite not playing in Week 12.
Fast-forward to Monday and the bye week went about as poorly for the Rams as it could have. No, no one was injured or arrested, but Los Angeles got absolutely no help from the rest of the NFC.
Here are the results the Rams were wishing for during the bye:
Saints lose to Falcons
Seahawks fall to Panthers
Lions beat Bears
Packers beat Vikings
And here’s what happened
Saints beat Falcons
Seahawks beat Panthers
Bears beat Lions
Vikings beat Packers
After 12 weeks, the Saints are currently atop the NFC with the Rams second.
Had the Falcons beat the Saints on Thanksgiving, the Rams would’ve held a one-game lead for the No. 1 seed in the conference with New Orleans falling to 9-2. Instead, the Saints own the tiebreaker over the Rams and can win out to earn home-field advantage in the playoffs.
If the Panthers had beaten the Seahawks instead of losing on a last-second field goal, the Rams would be selling NFC West champion gear. They would have clinched the division in just 12 weeks, which is an impressive feat. Now, the Seahawks are technically alive in the NFC West but have almost no chance to win it after losing to the Rams twice already.
The Lions beating the Bears would have been nice, but that game wasn’t one with huge implications. By winning, though, the Bears are just two games behind Los Angeles with a pivotal Week 14 matchup approaching. If the Bears win this week and the Rams somehow lose to Detroit, that game in two weeks will be for the No. 2 seed. The Rams still have a firm grip on it and shouldn’t have any trouble with Detroit, San Francisco or Arizona down the stretch, but Week 14 just got more important.
And finally, the Vikings knocked off the Packers to greatly improve their playoff chances. At 6-4-1, they’re still very much alive in the NFC and could mathematically still catch the Rams. It would take a lot for that to happen, but it’s possible. The Packers, on the other hand, are all but eliminated.