The Los Angeles Rams will host the Seattle Seahawks in Week 18. But because the Rams clinched the NFC West in Week 17, the only thing that will matter in this game is what seed Los Angeles will be in the NFC Playoffs — third or fourth.
But head coach Sean McVay isn’t worried about it and would much rather prioritize rest over winning.
“…If you asked, does the third or the fourth seed really matter? It doesn’t because I know that you’re going to play an excellent team, whoever ends up as the five, six, or seven of the teams that could be in that spot,” McVay said.
Do the Rams Have What It Takes to Make the Super Bowl?
After a 1-4 start to the season, Los Angeles has won nine of its last 11 games, giving them a 10-6 record heading into the final week of the season. What’s the reason for their turnaround? It starts on the offensive side of the ball.
Pro Football Network’s Offense+ metric ranks the Rams ninth in the NFL after Week 17, crediting their efficiency on the ground and their ability to stay ahead of the chains.
The Rams have a pair of elite receivers, and with Puka Nacua putting his name in the ring for the best pass catchers in the league after his standout Week 14 performance in the win over Buffalo, counting this team out is simply irresponsible.
This season, Kyren Williams has Los Angeles’ offense ranking sixth in rush success rate, behind only the mighty Lions. The respect Williams demands from opposing defenses has allowed the Rams to rank fifth in third-down avoidance — they are constantly operating from ahead of the chains, a common trait of successful offenses.
With both Nacua and Cooper Kupp operating at full strength and regularly accounting for the vast majority of this team’s receiving yards, Los Angeles has plenty of upward mobility in its quest for the division title.
That said, their Defense+ rank of 22 shows room for improvement, especially with inconsistent performances throughout the year. And while the Rams’ defense will finish the league in the bottom half, this ranking doesn’t really reflect the week-to-week variance of this team.
Los Angeles delivered another strong defensive performance in Week 17 vs. the Cardinals, recording a 77.2 (C+) grade that ranked as the team’s fifth-best performance of the season.
The Rams have posted a weekly top-15 finish in four of the last five weeks. The exception was the 44-42 bonanza against the Bills in Week 14, in which the Rams posted an F grade. Los Angeles has four top-10 finishes this season, yet they’re one of three defenses with multiple F grades as well (Bengals and Panthers).
For the season, the Rams grade as a below-average defense in nearly every category that comprises our defensive rankings. The glaring exception is red-zone defense, where Los Angeles has the fifth-lowest touchdown rate allowed (47.2%).
That probably limits LA’s playoff upside, particularly given the inconsistent game-to-game performance from the passing offense. Still, after a 1-4 start, the defense deserves credit for delivering enough high points to complement the star power on offense and help claim the NFC West.
Is Sean McVay Taking the Right Approach?
The debate of whether to play your starters after a playoff spot has been clinched vs. resting star players has been going on for years. But McVay isn’t concerned about the optics of resting players if it means the team is fresher for the playoffs.
“It’s just you’re always balancing… I think the first thing is you have to take into account, this isn’t like the preseason,” McVay said. “You’ve a 53-man roster. You have the ability to flex two guys up and you have five inactive. Injuries usually make a lot or some of the decisions a little bit easier. I’m always trying to make decisions that I think are best for our football team.
“It might not be best for everybody else, but if you said risk-reward, I think it’s a great opportunity for Jimmy [Garoppolo] to be able to play. I think it’s also an awesome opportunity for Matthew [Stafford] to be able to get rested, rejuvenated and ready to roll for the playoffs. He’s accumulated so much experience. I think that’s the important thing while also saying this is an important game for us. We want to go compete to the best of our ability, don’t minimize that.
“Ultimately, you’re just weighing the pros and cons and tilting in those scales. Those are things that we’ve kind of done when we’ve been in similar situations. What I do acknowledge is that while it might not be for everybody, you try to have a thought process in regard to why you make these decisions.
“You use other people that you really value their input and then you’re able to articulate that with an open and honest dialogue with our players. They’ve always been so great about how we handle it.”
This year’s approach differs from 2018, when the Rams were playing for the number one seed, and even last year, when they were a Wild Card team where the seeding could fluctuate quite a bit, especially if there are upsets in the playoffs.
“Here, you’re talking about either the third or the fourth seed. You could sit here and try to play all these different things, [but] we have to be ready to go,” McVay said. “Somebody’s coming in here and that’s going to be an excellent team that earned an opportunity to be in the postseason. If you want to do what you’re going to do, you can’t necessarily duck anybody. You always have to weigh that risk-reward of we want to continue to make sure that all these games are important…
“…Whether it be the right or wrong approach, I always do what we think is best and certainly it’s a collaborative effort in terms of making those decisions. But ultimately if you asked, does the third or the fourth seed really matter? It doesn’t because I know that you’re going to play an excellent team, whoever ends up as the five, six, or seven of the teams that could be in that spot.”