The Rams already faced an uphill climb to the postseason entering Week 15, needing to win at least two of their final three games and get help from other teams. Unfortunately, their odds of making the playoffs plummeted after losing to the Cowboys on Sunday afternoon.
They were blown out 44-21 at AT&T Stadium, snapping a two-game winning streak. To make matters even worse, the Vikings also beat the Chargers, giving them a two-game lead over the Rams in the wild-card race.
With only two weeks remaining, that puts Los Angeles in an absolutely terrible spot in the playoff picture. Here’s how the standings currently look.
1. NFC West: Seahawks (11-3)
2. NFC North: Packers (11-3)
3. NFC South: Saints (10-3)
4. NFC East: Cowboys (7-7)
5. Wild card: 49ers (11-3)
6. Wild card: Vikings (10-4)
In the hunt
Rams (8-6)
Eagles (7-7)
In order for the Rams to make the playoffs, they must beat the 49ers in Week 16, as well as the Cardinals in the season finale. That won’t be enough by itself, though. The Vikings must also lose to the Packers next week and then the Bears in the final week of the season.
That seems highly unlikely to happen, especially after the way the Rams played on Sunday in Dallas. They looked slow, lacked precision and didn’t play the way they did one week ago against the Seahawks.
According to the New York Times playoff simulator, the Rams’ odds sit at 5%. Needless to say, it’s looking like they’ll be watching games from home in January.