How well can the LA Rams play the role of spoiler this year?

Final four contests

By this point of the season, the LA Rams will likely be eliminated from postseason competition. And now the clock is truly ticking on those teams that wish to cling to chances of earning a berth in the postseason.

Week 15 at Green Bay Packers (4-7) is a tough row for the LA Rams to hoe at full strength, so I give this team only a minimal 15 percent chance of winning. It seems as though the LA Rams face the Packers each year at Lambeau, and regardless of the stakes cannot pry a win away from that contest. This year, neither team is much to brag about, but the Packers will likely be clinging to hopes of a late-season rally

Week 16  finds the LA Rams hosting the Denver Broncos (3-7) and you can look for the Rams to hold about 35 percent for the win. The Broncos’ defense is dominating, and the Rams’ offense is pedestrian. While neither team is likely to finish near .500, the Broncos have fewer injuries to deal with, are a team looking for success for their new head coach, and should be enough to overcome the LA Rams at this point of the season.

Week 17 is when the LA Rams travel to face the LA Chargers (5-5) at SoFi Stadium, and by this time the Chargers should be either preparing for the NFL Playoffs or under plenty of pressure to win and get in. That combination could give the Rams a better-than-expected chance of 33 percent in this one.

Week 18  at the Seattle Seahawks (6-4) could be a bona fide trap game for the Seahawks, which is why I give the Rams about a 50 percent chance of the upset. By this time, all playoff berths will be accounted for, or nearly so, and the Rams will either be facing an eliminated Seahawks team ready to pack it in for the season or resting key players for the postseason. In either case, the Rams have a knack for causing problems for the Seattle Seahawks, and this could extend that uncanny mastery.

If the LA Rams were healthy, committed to a balanced offense, and playing for a playoff berth, the Rams could have an impressive finish to the season. But as it now stands, the Rams likely have one or two more wins in them. The only question remaining now is, which NFL team’s season will be spoiled at the hands of the Rams?