Sean McVay was asked after Saturday night’s win over the Arizona Cardinals whether he would consider resting his starters in the season finale if the Los Angeles Rams clinched the NFC West beforehand.
He didn’t give a definitive answer, saying he has a lot to consider and didn’t want to look too far ahead. He didn’t rule out the possibility of holding out Matthew Stafford and the Rams’ other top players, though.
“I’ve got to look at a lot of different things. We’ll see,” he said. “I don’t want to put the cart before the horse so our focus and concentration will be on, all right, how do we get an opportunity to play a complete game against an excellent Seattle Seahawks football team? Until we have to decide otherwise, that’s where my sole focus and concentration will be.”
Now that the Rams have officially clinched the division, McVay has to decide whether it’s worth playing his starters in a game that only matters for seeding. A win will ensure the Rams the No. 3 seed, while a loss will likely drop them to No. 4 in the conference.
We’ll probably get an answer from McVay about his plans later this week but recent history gives us a pretty good idea of what he’ll decide to do. That’s because the Rams have been in very similar scenarios twice before.
In McVay’s first season with the Rams in 2017, they clinched the division in Week 16. Just like this year, they were locked into either the No. 3 or 4 seed. McVay showed no preference for either seed, choosing to rest his starters in Week 17 against the 49ers – a game the Rams lost, 34-13. They then lost to the Falcons in the wild-card round, 26-13.
The Rams faced a similar conundrum last year when they clinched a playoff berth in Week 17 and had the opportunity to rest their starters against the 49ers in Week 18. They were locked in as either the No. 6 or 7 seed, but McVay didn’t see the difference as being significant enough to play his starters so he rested them, as did the 49ers. The Rams won and secured the No. 6 seed, so it worked out well for them.
This year’s scenario is most similar to 2017, so it seems likely that the Rams will rest their starters and keep everyone healthy for the start of the playoffs – even if that means they lose on Sunday and drop to the No. 4 seed where they’d have to face the Vikings or Lions.
McVay has shown he doesn’t put much stock in seeding differences, prioritizing health and rest over Round 1 matchups. Plus, with the Rams’ bye being so early this season, the team would greatly benefit from a week off before the playoffs.