Christmas came a week early for the Rams, and Jared Goff played the role of Santa by delivering a gift to his former team. He led the Lions to a shocking win over the Cardinals on Sunday afternoon – and not a narrow victory, either. They beat Arizona 30-12 thanks to Goff’s three touchdown passes, earning his second win of the season.
With the Cardinals losing, the Rams are now a half-game back in the NFC West with a chance to pull into a tie by beating the Seahawks on Tuesday. Sean McVay is aware of the surprising turn of events in Week 15, but the Rams aren’t going to let that change their approach to their matchup with Seattle.
They know they still have to handle their business and win, otherwise Arizona’s loss won’t mean much.
“I am aware of that,” McVay said Sunday of whether he saw that the Cardinals lost. “We came in and guys heard what the score was, but the reality is, it all becomes irrelevant if we don’t take care of business. Of course our players look at that kind of stuff, but the focus and concentration is, let’s take care of our business. To say I’m not a fan of the game and the league and things that could potentially affect us, I’m absolutely aware of that. But, you continue to harp on what are the things that we truly control? And that’s making sure we do a good job up on Tuesday. But, I’m definitely aware of that, as our players are as well.”
By no means does Arizona’s loss make the Rams the favorites over the Cardinals in the NFC West. They still have plenty of work to do, but knowing Arizona likely had to lose two of its final four games, this is a pleasant surprise because few expected the Cardinals to lose to Detroit.
If the Rams beat Seattle on Tuesday, the Cardinals will still hold the tiebreaker based on division record, holding a one-game edge in that department. Arizona still has to face the Colts, Cowboys and Seahawks in its final three games, so it’s not the easiest road whatsoever.
The Rams are still within reach of earning a home playoff game in the wild-card round of the playoffs, even if they don’t have a great chance to secure a first-round bye over the rest of the NFC.