Rams are eager to exorcise last year's demons during 2026 holiday season

Let's face it. The Los Angeles Rams lost the Super Bowl last season on a Thursday evening in Week 16. Specifically, they lost the Super Bowl when Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet picked up the football on a failed two-point conversion attempt and walked into the end zone. Officials reviewed the play and ruled it a successful conversion. 

Okay, claiming the Rams lost the Super Bowl right then, and there may be a slight exaggeration. Never mind that losing the game required blowing a 30-14 lead with under 10 minutes to go and the ball. But bear with me.

Seattle won in overtime, then wrapped up the division two weeks later. Had the Rams come out on top, the playoff seeding would have flipped. In that version of events, LA earns the one-seed and a first-round bye, while the Seahawks go on the road as a five-seed. The postseason ends differently. Specifically: Blue and Yellow confetti rain down on the streets of Los Angeles. 

If that sounds like a whole lot of trauma-dumping, well, it is. Pardon the liberties taken. This is a safe space for Rams fans.

Fortunately or not, depending on your perspective, the NFL has granted the boys in Blue a chance to exorcise their (our?) demons. The Week 16 matchup this season will be on Christmas Day at 5:15 pm PT. That's right. They'll be playing the reigning champs on the road, just like last time.

Rams must make good on get-back opportunity in 2026

Actually, it's not so far-fetched to trace the demise of the Rams' season to that Week 16 loss. As a one-seed in the playoffs, assuming they could handle the battered remains of the 49ers' roster in the Divisional Round, a matchup Seattle won 41-6, they would have hosted the NFC Championship Game at SoFi Stadium. 

Let's just say the Rams benefit from the venue change. Maybe Xavier Smith's nerves are calmer at home, without a hostile Lumen Field crowd at his back. I like their chances against Drake Maye and the Patriots in Super Bowl LX. 

That vision belongs to an alternate universe for a reason. It didn't happen. The Rams didn't win in Week 16. Smith did, in fact, muff the punt off his facemask. One heartbreak followed another. 

The hurt from last season's lost opportunity won't go away anytime soon. Sweeping Seattle in two of three games to finish out the 2026 schedule, in Weeks 16 and 18, would help ease the pain. Next steps: winning the division and bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to Los Angeles. 

Over seven months out, the Horns are currently small underdogs on the Christmas slate. Seattle is favored by 1.5 points at home. LA is listed as a 2.5-point favorite two weeks later at SoFi, date and time TBD. 

Faithful fans will hope to find a Rams win under the tree, a recipe for a materially merrier little Christmas. And, guys, this time pick up the ball before the other guys do. Just in case. 

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