Rams have nothing to prove in Week 17 while everything is on the line

The 11-4 Los Angeles Rams are locked into the wild-card bracket of the upcoming NFL playoffs. Despite multiple games that could have kept LA in the hunt for the NFC West title, it was not to be. The title will be awarded to the winner of the 13-3 Seattle Seahawks at 12-4 San Francisco 49ers. Que será será.

But don't despair. As expected, the results of the final two games on the Rams' schedule have no impact on the team's playoff seeding. Nada. Zilch. Stugots. The current sixth-seeded team can lose the final two games of the season by a huge margin and remain the sixth-seeded team. At one point, the team wanted to play for a BYE.

This team now has two built-in BYE weeks to play.

The latest Los Angeles injury update was not promising. Not only are multiple players out for Week 17, but there are multiple players at doubtful or questionable now as well. With no obvious postseason advantages present in the outcome of this game, the team's track record suggests that any player who is banged up may sit.

In short, LA has nothing to prove any longer. But that means that everything is on the line.

Everything is on the line in Week 17 for the Rams

Los Angeles does not want to back into the playoffs on a losing streak. Whether or not lost by backups, the team needs to carry positive momentum into the postseason. And that starts against the 6-9 Atlanta Falcons.

Who sits this one out? Fans are well within their rights to question roster decisions at this point. But with two starting offensive linemen on the bench, and two starting receivers likely to join them, does it make sense to have 37-year-old quarterback Matthew Stafford on the football field? The team cannot risk injury to him.

And so, the dominoes start to fall. Each player who is benched creates justification to bench another player, and so on.

The team is going to use the final two games to acclimate injured players. Cornerback Roger McCreary has been activated off injured reserve for this game. To address offensive line depth, the team is elevation interior offensive lineman A.J. Arcuri from the practice squad. That would give the impression that left tackle Alaric Jackson will sit this one out.

So getting seldom-used players up to speed is certainly a vital goal before the playoffs.

Let's bypass draft concerns. This banged-up team faces a moment of truth against an eliminated Falcons squad. After all, this team restocked the roster with passionate players. And this game, while not oozing playoff impact, is still football. It's time to see what this team is made of.

Tom Brady had warned that LA may have peaked too soon. Right now, this 11-4 team is just 2-2 over the past four games. A team entering the post-season on a two-game winning streak commands more respect than the team on a three-game losing streak.

As always, thanks for reading.