Rams playoff path has shockingly gone to the birds in Week 18 showdowns

When it comes down to the 11-5 Los Angeles Rams, the team needs to halt its two-game losing streak. And the 3-13 Arizona Cardinals appear to be the right opponent to put things back on the right track. But if Los Angeles needed more incentive to play well in this one, the 14-3 Seattle Seahawks just gave it.

By defeating the 12-5 San Francisco 49ers, the path to the fifth seed in the NFC is open to LA once more. If the Yellow and Blue defeat the Arizona Cardinals this week, they will face the winner of the NFC South. RIght now, that will mean travelling to face either the 8-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the 8-9 Carolina Panthers.

That is huge, as it means LA can avoid the risk of snow and bone-numbing chill by travelling to face the Philadelphia Eagles in the playoffs. And just to be clear, Los Angeles has lost its past three games to Philly. So there may be solid reasons for playing starters in Week 18 after all.

Falcons have a hand in Rams fate as well

Curiously, the 7-9 Atlanta Falcons have a hand in the playoff picture. If the Falcons finish the season at 8-9, the NFL playoff tiebreakers pivot from a two-team tiebreaker to a multi-team tiebreaker. In that scenario, the Carolina Panthers would win the NFC South Division due to a better combined record against the other two teams.

The Falcons face the 6-10 New Orleans Saints in the season finale, and are leading by a score of 10-7 at halftime.

Regardless of which team represents the NFC South Division, the LA Rams still need to defeat the Cardinals to earn the fifth seed. That may not be as easy as fans think. Even with head coach Sean McVay committing to play starters, he amended that to play healthy starters. McVay's group is pretty banged up heading into the final game of the season.

While Los Angeles may face the Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, or Carolina Panthers in the Wild Card Round of the NFL playoffs, fans will know exactly who they will face by the end of today's game.

The LA Rams faced the Philadelphia Eagles in last year's playoffs. I suspect NFL fans would love to see the 49ers face the Eagles this time around.

As always, thanks for reading.