LA Rams various NFL Playoff scenarios updated for a 9-5 record

Second or Third Seed

The Rams need two things to happen to get this seed. First and foremost they must win out. The Rams need to win the next two games for a division win and not a wild card seeding. Second the Saints must lose both of their two remaining contests against either the Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers.

If the Rams can’t win the remaining games or Saints win just one, the best the Rams can do is the 3rd seed. With two losses to San Fransisco if the Rams and Saints have the same record the Saints would have the higher seed. They own the tie breaker due to having a better divisional record.

There is also a weird scenario where the five teams can tie at 11-5 in the NFC West. The Rams would own the tie breaker giving them the 2nd seed and they would play the bottom seed.  That means the Rams first opponent would be either the Arizona Cardinals or Chicago Bears. Since this is very unlikely, let’s look at the third seed which is the most likely outcome as long as the Rams win their next two games.

Third seed opponents

The Rams will need to win out, or just beat the Seattle Seahawks, who must then lose their week 17 matchup to the San Francisco 49ers if the Rams lose to the Cardinals. In either scenario, the Rams would hold the tie breaker over Seattle due to head to head matchups.

There is even a weird scenario where the NFC West can end in a 3 way tie. If the Rams win this week vs the Seahawks and lose week 17 to the Cardinals, the Cardinals win out, and the Hawks lose out, then each team would have 10 wins. Not to fret, the Rams would still win the division on tie breakers and still be the third seed.

If Rams do get the third seed they will play the losers of the NFC South, either the New Orleans Saints or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at SoFi Stadium in the wild card round. If the Bucs win out but are still a wildcard team under the Saints then the Rams opponent become the runner up to the NFC West, most likely. Seahawks.

However if the Rams cant win either of their next two games; or win vs Seattle and lose week 17 while the Seahawks win; they still will be playoff bound, but as a wildcard team.