NFL playoff picture: Rams' current seed, Week 18 scenarios and wild-card opponents

12 hours ago 1

Nothing has gone the Los Angeles Rams’ way in the last two weeks. They’ve gone 0-2, the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers have gone 2-0 and the Rams have tumbled to the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoff bracket.

Entering Week 16, the Rams had been No. 1 in the conference and in control of the NFC West, but back-to-back losses have sunk them. No longer in contention for the division title, the Rams are locked into the No. 5 or 6 seed after losing to the Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons.

Six of the seven playoff spots in the NFC are already determined, with only the Panthers and Buccaneers playing for the final position as the NFC South champion. There’s still room for movement within the top three seeds and Nos. 5 and 6, but the fourth and seventh seeds will be the NFC South champion and the Packers, respectively.

NFC playoff picture entering Week 18

Bears: 11-5 (NFC North)
49ers: 12-4 (WC)
Rams: 11-5 (WC)

If the season ended today – which, after checking the schedule, we can confirm it does not – the Rams would be the No. 6 seed and forced to go to Philadelphia to face the Eagles in the first round.

Here’s a look at the projected matchups based on the current standings.

(2) Bears vs. (7) Packers
(3) Eagles vs. (6) Rams
(4) Panthers vs. (5) 49ers

Rams seeding scenarios

No. 5 seed if: Rams win + 49ers lose
No. 6 seed if: Rams lose OR 49ers win

The Rams had been in control of their path to the No. 5 seed before losing to the Falcons on Monday night. Had they won that game, they would've simply needed to beat the Cardinals in Week 18 to clinch the No. 5 seed and ensure a matchup with the Panthers or Bucs in Round 1.

They can't fall further than the No. 6 seed and they can't be higher than No. 5, having been eliminated from NFC West contention on Sunday when the Seahawks and 49ers both won.

Rams potential wild-card opponents

The Rams can only face four possible teams in the first round: Panthers, Bucs, Eagles or Bears.

This post shows the potential scenarios for each team in the NFC entering Week 18. Based on these scenarios, the Rams are likeliest to be the No. 6 seed and face the Eagles in the first round.

There are still a lot of things that can play out in the season finale that will shake up the 2, 3, 5 and 6 seeds in the NFC, so it's going to be an interesting final week.

According to The Athletic, the Rams have a 44% chance to secure the No. 5 seed and a 56% chance to get the No. 6 seed.

This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: NFL playoff picture: Outlook for Rams entering Week 18

Read Entire Article