Looking at scenarios for Rams earning No. 3 or No. 4 seed in NFC playoffs

Even though Sean McVay is choosing to rest key starters, the Los Angeles Rams could see a change in the NFC playoff seeding.

After defeating the Tennessee Titans in Week 16 to clinch the NFC West title, the Los Angeles Rams currently sit with the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoff picture, ahead of the New Orleans Saints due to the head-to-head tiebreaker. However, just because the Rams hold the No. 3 seed at the moment doesn’t mean that will stick after their regular-season finale against the San Francisco 49ers, which is why there are a few critics when it comes to Sean McVay‘s decision to rest some of the starters.

For obvious reasons, it’s easy to understand why McVay would want to rest players like Jared Goff or Todd Gurley since the last thing Los Angeles can afford to see happen is one of their beloved stars suffering a major injury before the playoffs. It sounds crazy to think about, but when looking at all of the injuries surrounding the NFL this year, including the Philadelphia Eagles recently losing Carson Wentz to a torn ACL, McVay certainly has every right to be cautious.

In a way, the Rams are in a tough position since even most of the backups seem capable of at least giving the 49ers a run for their money, but also if they do end up on the losing and drop the No. 4 seed, it will be interesting to see if regret comes into play over the starters resting. And even though the easy way to clinch the No. 3 seed is for Los Angeles to simply win, the good news is there are a few scenarios in which they can remain in that spot even with a loss, as shown in the graph below.

Also, as frustrating as it may seem to think about the possibility of the Rams dropping to the No. 4 seed, keep in mind this could possibly result in a Divisional Round meeting with the Philadelphia Eagles, who seem to be a work in progress while adjusting to Nick Foles at quarterback, instead of the Minnesota Vikings. Of course, none of that would matter if Los Angeles ended up losing on Wild Card Weekend, but at least it’s something worth thinking about since Philadelphia would seem to be the more favorable matchup right now.

Next: 3 predictions for Rams against 49ers in Week 17

Either way, no matter what happens this weekend against the 49ers, the Rams are mostly focused on that first weekend in January when considering nobody was giving this team a chance to compete back in the offseason. Now that the hard part from the regular season is complete by earning a trip, it’s time for Los Angeles to really prove themselves with a potential deep run in January.