The Los Angeles Rams’ playoff chances weren’t exactly great entering Week 15, but they were just one game behind the Vikings for the sixth seed in the NFC. They owned the tiebreaker over Minnesota, too, making a postseason appearance very possible.
Unfortunately, the Rams’ loss combined with Minnesota’s win all but sealed Los Angeles’ fate. The Rams’ playoff chances now sit at 5% with the path to the postseason clear (yet near-impossible): win the last two and Minnesota loses its last two games.
With the Rams losing 44-21 to the Cowboys on Sunday, they dropped in Touchdown Wire’s power rankings for Week 16 – only one spot, though. They slid from No. 13 to 14, one spot behind the Cowboys and one in front of the 7-7 Bucs.
A year after reaching the Super Bowl, the Rams’ playoff hopes are hanging by a thread following a blowout loss to the Cowboys on Sunday. What’s gone wrong? Injuries have been a part of it. But the main problems are that Todd Gurley no longer is the focal point of the offense — no matter what the coaches say — and the offensive line isn’t very good. Gurley simply isn’t the same back he was. His knee isn’t healthy enough to carry this offense anymore. And quarterback Jared Goff isn’t good enough to carry the Rams, who must recalibrate their offense next season.
This was a disappointing season for the Rams, to say the least. They were aggressive midway through the year, acquiring Jalen Ramsey and trading away Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters. All of the trades were understandable and appeared to help Los Angeles, but they weren’t enough to get the Rams back to the playoffs.