Potential Wild Card spot only playoff hope for Rams after Week 10

After suffering another loss in Week 10, the only hope for the Los Angeles Rams to make the playoffs seems to be through a Wild Card spot.

Not every Los Angeles Rams fan agreed that Week 10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers was considered a must-win situation, but it certainly looks that way now after Sean McVay‘s squad suffered their fourth loss of the year on Sunday.

Despite returning from the bye week on a two-game winning streak, those two wins came against the Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals, meaning the Rams weren’t truly tested from a competitor standpoint.

So with Los Angeles heading east in Week 10 to face a Pittsburgh team that seemed to be heating up at the right moment with three wins in a row, the Rams were in the perfect situation to make a statement to the rest of the league in regards to being the real deal.

As fans saw, the Rams received a major wake-up call during their 17-12 loss to the Steelers after Jared Goff and the offense failed to score a single touchdown.

Between Goff failing to receive any protection from the offensive line along with the receiving corps adjusting to playing without Brandin Cooks, there were plenty of frustrating factors that came into play in this loss.

Most importantly, with Los Angeles dropping to 5-4 on the season, any shot at winning a third division title in a row seems like it can officially be thrown out the window at this point in November.

With the undefeated San Francisco 49ers (8-0) squaring off against the Seattle Seahawks (7-2) on Monday night, the Rams clearly have dug themselves a deep hole in the race for the NFC West title.

Chances are, the 49ers or Seahawks aren’t going to lose the amount of necessary games during this final stretch to put Los Angeles in position to have a fighting chance in the division, meaning their only hope seems to be settling for one of the Wild Card spots.

Even more frustrating, when looking at how the Rams failed to receive the necessary help from the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday in defeating the Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles is still on the outside looking in of the NFC playoff picture.

Crazier things have taken place in the NFL over the years when it comes to surprise teams making unexpected runs at the last minute, so there’s obviously no reason to rule Los Angeles out of contention just yet.

But when looking at the previous high expectations surrounding this team, it still hurts to realize that winning the division for a third year in a row is basically impossible for the Rams, and earning a Wild Card spot is arguably going to be just as challenging.