The Los Angeles Rams won a hard-fought battle against a division opponent last week when they beat the Seattle Seahawks on the road. They return home to face the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football and hope to take another step toward the playoffs.
Their win against the Seahawks helped them do just that, as Gene Mendez of CBS Sports notes.
“There's a fine line between winning and losing in the NFL, and on Sunday against the rival Seahawks, the Los Angeles Rams crossed that line multiple times in a roller-coaster affair,” Menez said.
“First they fell behind 13-3. Then they went up 20-13, taking the lead on a 103-yard interception return. Then they allowed a game-tying touchdown with less than a minute remaining in regulation and were just 16 yards away from losing in overtime before getting a crucial fourth-down stop.
“In the end, Los Angeles ended up on the right side of the fine line when receiver Demarcus Robinson made a one-handed catch of a Matthew Stafford pass for a 39-yard, game-winning touchdown in overtime.
Menez noted that the wild win in Seattle did wonders for the Rams’ chances of making the playoffs. Entering Sunday’s game, the Rams had a significantly lower chance of making the playoffs than they did after the win.
“That one outcome had massive implications on the playoff chances of both the Rams and Seahawks,” Menez said.
“Entering Week 10 of the NFL season, the [Arizona] Cardinals (5-4) lead the air-tight NFC West. Los Angeles (4-4) and San Francisco [49ers] are tied for second in the division, but the Rams currently hold the tiebreaker. The Seahawks (4-5) sit in the basement but are just one game behind division-leading Arizona.”
“According to the SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, the Rams have a 21.7% chance of making the playoffs. However, had they lost the game on Sunday, their postseason chances would be on life support, at 6.0%.”
Still, Rams head coach Sean McVay knows he and the team still have plenty of work to do if they hope to make it to the postseason. While a three-game win streak is excellent, making the playoffs is much better.
"We're going to continue to try to get better, but I'm really proud of the way this group is finding a way to get it done in different ways," McVay said on Sunday. "To be able to get three in a row is really hard in this league, and we know we're going to have a great challenge with our next game on Monday night."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as What Did Win Over Seahawks Do for Rams' Playoff Chances?.