Rams clinch NFC West title for first time since 2021

Remember, less than three months ago, where it seemed like this Rams season was going? Entering the bye 1-4. A defense that felt a year away. An offense so defined by injuries the whole campaign was taking on a cursed feel.

It would have been easy to dwell on what could have been. Instead, the Rams never lost sight of what could still be.

“I really had no doubt that we were going to come back from that,” safety and defensive captain Quentin Lake said earlier this month. “We did it last year, and sometimes people say it’s hard to do it again. But for me, I was always like, ‘We’re going to be alright.’ At the end of the day, we’re such a resilient team. … We understand what it takes to win games and we also understand what it takes to bounce back from a little bit of adversity, too.”

Since that week off, the Rams have won nine of 11 games, earning their sixth 10-win season in eight years under head coach Sean McVay. The team as a whole has gotten healthy, allowing the offense to flash the promise of training camp. Over the last three weeks, the defense has been the first in the NFL since 2021 to hold three consecutive opponents below 10 points.

And with a little help from their friends in Buffalo, Minnesota and Washington, the Rams clinched the NFC West title on Sunday and earned themselves a home playoff game in the wild card round.

Following their 13-9 win over the Arizona Cardinals Saturday, the Rams sat one game ahead of the second-place Seahawks with a matchup looming between the two in Week 18. But if three of five teams won on Sunday and Monday, the Rams could clinch the final tiebreaker with Seattle, strength of record, and cruise into the regular-season finale without needing to press their starters.

The Rams got that lucky combination by Sunday night as Buffalo defeated the Jets, Minnesota defeated Green Bay and Washington defeated Atlanta.

It is the Rams’ first division title since 2021, the year they won Super Bowl LVI. It is the franchise’s fourth NFC West title during McVay’s tenure, which began in 2017.

And out of 390 teams in the Super Bowl era to start their seasons 1-4 or worse through five games, the Rams are the 14th to go on to win their division, per Pro Football Network.

“Sitting here doing this at 1-4  to where we are right now, I sure am proud of this group,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said on Saturday as the Rams awaited these results. “We have a lot more football to play and a lot more to earn. We’ve earned the opportunity to be where we are. Whatever that is, it is at the end of the weekend. I’m proud of this group and the way they battled back. A lot of people doubted us and a lot of people wrote us off at 1-4. To be able to sit here with our record what it is right now, I feel proud of this group.”

By securing the playoff spot, the Rams (10-6) have the luxury of options heading into Week 18.

Technically, with just a one-game lead over NFC South-leading Tampa Bay for the three-seed in the NFC, the Rams still have seeding to play for against Seattle. But the Rams also had seeding at stake in Week 18 last season and chose to rest their starters anyway.

McVay declined to go into hypotheticals Saturday when asked if he would play his starters against the Seahawks with the division title already in hand.

“I’ve got to look at a lot of different things,” McVay said. “We’ll see. I don’t want to put the cart before the horse.”

But the Rams have the opportunity to heal any lingering bumps and bruises. Right tackle Rob Havenstein (shoulder) didn’t play against Arizona, but McVay said he was close to being a go. Now, McVay can rest the veteran again and make sure he’s ready for wild card weekend.

Just another unforeseen opportunity that the Rams have earned in a season of them.

“The reality is this, if you want to be able to do what we want to be able to do, you’ve got to handle your own business,” McVay said, “and our guys did that.”