The Rams managed to put together a win to end the season with a win and a 10-6 record, beating the Arizona Cardinals out of a playoff spot 18-7.
The game clinched them a playoff spot and a wild card matchup with the NFC West Champions Seattle Seahawks. It wasn’t their best win of the season, but a win’s a win no matter how ugly it is.
However, rookie John Wolford looked great in his first career start. He threw for 231 yards and led the team in rushing with 56 yards. It wasn’t a breakout performance, but his development’s coming along well. Even with a great job stepping in for the injured Jared Goff, the offense didn’t put up any points — the defense and Matt Gay put up all the points.
In the sixth spot in the playoffs, the Rams will take on Seattle for the third time this season and an opportunity to settle the score.
In Week 10, the Rams pulled out a 23-16 win while the Seahawks returned the favor with a 20-9 blowout loss. The Rams will have to go back to Seattle to keep their season alive.
The key to success is containing Russel Wilson and sticking to D.K. Metcalf like glue. The Rams showed they could do it in Week 10, so they’ll have to replicate that performance. If they can pull out a win in the wild card round, it would be hard to see them moving beyond the divisional round.
The Rams will have to hope for the Chicago Bears to upset the New Orleans Saints to move on to the conference championship. If the Saints win, the Rams will have to face the Green Bay Packers. However, if Chicago can beat the Saints, the Rams will play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which they already beat back in Week 11.
However, a playoff matchup with one of the best offenses in the league against one of the league’s best defenses would be one to remember. The Rams can pull off an upset if every aspect of the game is firing on all cylinders. After that, it’s a 50/50 tossup in the NFC Championship Game.
If the Rams can get past the Green Bay Packers, they’ll have their second chance to face Tampa Bay or play the Saints. The Rams, Saints, and Buccaneers’ offenses are evenly matched, so it’s a matter of which defense comes out to play.
Reasonably how far can the Rams make it to the playoff this year — not too far. I reasonably think they can get to the divisional round, but they’re done for if they face the Packers. The NFC is a tough division despite the abysmal performance of the NFC East. The Packers and Saints are going to knock out the Rams if Seattle doesn’t do it first.
The Rams are a great team that hit a roadblock late in the season but found a way to pull it out. Making it out of the Wild Card round is what we can all hope for and bring momentum into next season.
Hopefully, with everybody back and a full offseason to work out the few kinks in the system, they can make it back to the Super Bowl.
Featured Image: Jae C. Hong/AP Photo
