Rams’ path to playoff berth, NFC West title in next 2 weeks couldn’t be clearer

The Rams can lock up a spot in the postseason with a win or tie against the Jets on Sunday.

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Sitting at 9-4 and positioned nicely in the NFC, the Los Angeles Rams are extremely close to locking up a playoff berth for the third time in four seasons. Their path to the postseason is crystal clear as the regular season winds down, needing no help from anyone else to make the playoffs or even win the NFC West.

Los Angeles can clinch a postseason berth as early as this week when it hosts the New York Jets at SoFi Stadium for a Week 15 matchup. The Rams can’t lock up the division this week, but they will have a chance to in Week 16 when they visit the Seattle Seahawks.

Here is the Rams’ playoff-clinching scenario for Week 15.

Rams clinch a playoff berth with:

  • Rams win/tie vs. Jets OR
  • Vikings-Bears tie

That’s it. That’s the entire extent of the Rams’ clinching scenario this week. It doesn’t get any easier than just needing to tie the 0-13 Jets, and as 17-point favorites, the Rams plan to do much more than match New York’s score. They expect to win, and win big.

Assuming they take care of the Jets, the Rams would be able to clinch the division title with a win over the Seahawks in Week 16 – regardless of whether Seattle beats Washington this week. In fact, even if the Seahawks lose to Washington on Sunday, Seattle can still take over the NFC West lead if it beats the Rams in Week 16.

The Rams and Seahawks are currently tied at 9-4, but because L.A. won the first meeting between these two teams, it holds the tiebreaker in head-to-head matchups. However, if the Seahawks beat them in Week 16 and knock off San Francisco in Week 17, they will be crowned NFC West champions.

Here are the easiest paths to the division crown for each team.

Rams clinch NFC West with:

  • Win vs. Jets AND
  • Win vs. Seahawks

Seahawks clinch NFC West with:

  • Win/loss vs. Washington AND
  • Win vs. Rams AND
  • Win vs. 49ers

There is a scenario where the Rams can win the division even if they lose to the Seahawks in Week 16. That would require L.A. to win in Week 15 and 17, and Seattle to lose in those two weeks. In that case, they would both be tied at 11-5, but the Rams would hold the tiebreaker based on division record.

All that said, the Rams’ path to the playoffs and NFC West crown couldn’t be simpler: Just win the next two games.

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