A St. Louis Rams Fans’ Guide To Cheering In Week 16: Eagles, Texans, Ravens, Saints, Cardinals, And 49ers

Dec 13, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict (55) watches Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles (9) prior to the snap during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. The Bengals defeated the Eagles 34-13. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

In case you forgot, the St. Louis Rams are techincally not out of the playoff hunt just yet. Ramblin’ Fan detailed earlier this week the 10 game string of events that needs to play out over the next two weeks for the Rams’ miracle run. This week, there are six games to watch, some of which are much more likely than other to come to fruition. Anyways, here is the cheering guide for the week:

1. Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles may be the most important team for the St. Louis Rams over the next two week, especially considering they play two teams currently ranked ahead of the Rams in the NFC standings. This week is undoubly more  important, because they face off against the Washington Redskins, currently the leaders in the NFC East. Should Washington make the playoffs, the Rams draft slot will plummet into the bottom of the first round. St. Louis fans have been cheering against the ‘Skins all season, so this game should be nothing new.

2. Houston Texans

The Texans are pretty easy to cheer for on a typical, Sunday, assuming you can handle to commentaters drooling over Arian Foster for two hours. For once, Foster will not be the best back on the field, when the Texans take on the Minnesota Vikings and the seemingly unstoppable Adrian Peterson. Peterson needs to average a little over 147 yards per game over the rest of the season to break Eric Dickerson’s long-held, single-season rushing record. That alone should be enough to cheer for the Texans. However, with the Rams over the St. Louis Rams last week, the Vikings are two game ahead of St. Louis in the NFC standings, meaning that they need Minnesota to lose their last two game for the Rams to jump them into the playoffs.

3. Balitmore Ravens and New Orleans Saints

Both of these teams have been on a recent slump, especially the Balitmore Ravens, firing their offense coordinator and seemingly losing all of their star players on the defensive side of the ball. This week, the Ravens and Saints take on the Cowboys and Giants, respectively. Deep down, St. Louis likely cares more about the Cowboys losing than the Giants, although both are ahead in the standings. However, should the Rams lose, both of these teams have a chance to knock the Redskins out of the playoffs. It also seems like the New York Giants are the only team that can beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl, and no one wants to hear about how amazing Tom Brady is for another season.

4. Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers

Seems odd to be cheering for two division rivals, but at least one of them is required to win in the complex formula for the St. Louis Rams to make it into the playoffs. Sadly, the Seahawks are out of reach of the Rams jumping them to make the playoffs, but could still be knocked out by any number of teams should they lose their last two games of the season. For some reason, I would much rather see the ‘9ers get the division crown than the ‘Hawks, and would absolutely love for Seattle to be sitting at home on Sunday in late January. The Cardinals, on the other hand, are playing the Chicago Bears, who are currently slotted one spot outside of the NFC playoff picture. An Arizona win over Chicago is one of the numerous games that needs to play out in order for the St. Louis Rams to make it into the playoffs. Cheers to hoping…