5 Week 15 NFL games that hold playoff impacts for the LA Rams

(2) New England Patriots (3-10) at Arizona Cardinals (6-7)

Until the Rams face, and defeat, the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17, the Cardinals hold the tiebreaker advantage over the Rams for the NFC West Division title and for any Wild Card scenarios. Of course, tiebreakers only kick in when two or more teams end the season in a tie. So the trick is, not to end the season in a tie.

The Rams control their own destiny right now. That simply means that as long as the team wins all of the remaining games on the schedule, they will win the NFC West Division and compete in the upcoming playoffs. But there is nothing wrong with a bit of a buffer. After all, they are the same Arizona Cardinals that dominated the Rams in Week 2, winning by the lopsided score of 41-10.

So it only makes sense to cheer for the Patriots here. I don't fear the Cardinals. I simply don't want to tempt fate.

(1) Green Bay Packers (9-4) at Seattle Seahawks (8-5)

Okay, I saved the Packers at the Seahawks game for last, because this is truly a game in which there are benefits for the LA Rams no matter how the game plays out. For an immediate gratification, cheering for the Packers does create the scenario in which the Seattle Seahawks fall to a record of 8-6. With the team having already defeated the Seahawks earlier in the season, the Rams would take an interim lead in the division. But the Rams hosting the Seahawks in Week 18 could still be a factor.

But the Packers travel to Seattle in this one. The Packers play four more games. If they spiral and lose four games, they could be vulnerable to an NFC West team regarding a Wild Card slot. But the Packers loss impacts the NFC West seeding as well. The Rams have to view a Packers loss as not as terrible as it might appear initially.

Of course, if the Rams win against the Jets, and the Seahawks lose to the Packers and the Minnesota Vikings, the Rams have the opportunity to rest players in Week 18 before hosting a playoff game. That could be a factor. I would love to see a Week 18 option to rest players.

There is plenty of football to play in Week 15. The Rams have already recorded a victory, so there it's simply a matter of how the remaining games might impact the various playoff scenarios.

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