It’s official: Rams clinch NFC West crown and a playoff berth
The Rams did not play Sunday, but they still won the NFC West.
A victory on Saturday over the Arizona Cardinals positioned the Rams to capture the division title via the NFL’s strength of victory tiebreaking metric.
The Cincinnati Bengals’ victory over the Denver Broncos on Saturday, plus the Buffalo Bills’ victory over the New York Jets, the Minnesota Vikings’ victory over the Green Bay Packers and the Washington Commanders’ victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday gave the Rams the tiebreaker over the Seattle Seahawks.
Rams defensive backs Ahkello Witherspoon and Kamren Kinchens came through again, this time with late interceptions to preserve a victory over the Cardinals.
So the game between the Rams and Seahawks at 1:25 p.m. on Sunday at SoFi Stadium will enable Rams coach Sean McVay to possibly rest starters for an NFC wild-card playoff game that the Rams will host.
The Rams won the division for the fourth time in McVay’s eight seasons as coach. They also won in 2017 when they lost in the wild-card round, 2018 when they lost to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIII and 2021 when they defeated the Bengals in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium.
For the second season in a row, the Rams made a dramatic turnaround after their open date.
In 2023, the Rams were 3-6 and then won seven of their last eight games to advance to the playoffs. The Detroit Lions then defeated the Rams in a wild-card game at Detroit.
This season, the Rams started 1-4 before winning nine of their next 11 games.
“A lot of people doubted us and a lot of people wrote us off at 1-4,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said after a 13-9 victory over the Cardinals. “To be able to sit here with our record what it is right now, I feel proud of this group.”
The Rams’ Ahkello Witherspoon intercepted a pass thrown toward the end zone with 37 seconds to go to preserve a 13-9 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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