Humbling Week 17 loss forces Sean McVay to change his strategy for season finale

After 17 weeks of heated competition, most NFL teams that are heading for the playoffs are fine-tuning their postseason strategies and resting injured players. But after another humiliating defeat on Monday Night Football, the 11-5 Los Angeles Rams are no longer looking to fine-tune the strategy for the playoffs.

Now, the coaching staff is burning the midnight oil in a frantic attempt to recapture some magic.

What does that mean for players? Well, it means the cessation of a team tradition. That is, the Week 18 BYE that head coach Sean McVay has afforded to starters to rest up for the postseason appears to be off the table. After two seasons of the team digging a hole for itself, only to roar back to life, this year's team appears to have peaked too soon and is now scrambling to overcome complacency.

This is the exact scenario that Tom Brady warned about weeks ago, and fans feared as soon as Los Angeles locked up a playoff berth after Week 15. LA has not won a game since. Wide receiver Davante Adams has not played a single snap since.

Rams are either panicking or renewing a sense of urgency

LA has lost two straight games and three of the last five games played. Considering the team holds a record of 11-5, it's clear that the trend is not positive. A solid win in Week 17 would have been exactly what this team needed. But Bijon Robinson and company stunned the NFL with a rather methodical dissection of one of the more formidable playoff teams.

Now, the same Los Angeles that was coasting into the playoffs must scramble to stop this free fall. The thing is, is this too little too late? For now, it seems that the concept of sitting starters is not going to happen this year.

What does that mean? Well, for all intents and purposes, it almost certainly means that left tackle Alaric Jackson, wide receiver Davante Adams, and perhaps even right guard Kevin Dotson will see some action in Week 18. But for players on injured reserve, the future is a bit more ambiguous.

Will it make a difference? It certainly should. With Alaric Jackson playing, LA would have added two Puka Nacua touchdown receptions. In that scenario, we would not even be having this discussion today. And that is just one player. Imagine the impact of getting a full roster on the football field.

Not everything will or even can be fixed in Week 18. The run defense was shredded in two consecutive weeks. Perhaps even more concerning is this team's 5-4 record on the road. After hosting the 3-13 Arizona Cardinals in Week 18, the team must win four road games. That's a tall order for a team that has struggled to remain above .500 when traveling.

Will all starters play the entire game? That's hard to imagine. But it does mean that the risk for injury to key starters will increase. After all, the team took quite a risk starting quarterback Matthew Stafford behind a patchwork offensive line. He was sacked three times and threw three interceptions.

The time for posturing and power rankings is over. Now, the LA Rams have to put their best games on the football field. If they manage that, they will win some football games. But if not, then this is simply another wudda-cudda-shudda season.

As always, thanks for reading.