The Los Angeles Rams (10-6) have earned their fourth NFC West title in the past eight years after they clinched this past weekend. The Rams handled business in a 13-9 win over their division rival Arizona Cardinals (7-9) and received help from other teams to secure the tiebreaker.
This Rams teams has now won five-straight games and nine of their last 11 to clinch the division before the final week of the season. It has truly been one of the most remarkable comebacks for a team that started 1-4 and had zero hope to be a playoff team after the first month of the season.
With not much on the line in their Week 18 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks (9-7), the Rams will be resting many of their key starters to avoid any injuries in the final week of the regular season. Even with a loss, the Rams will still be hosting a playoff game in the first round at SoFi Stadium.
Where do the Rams rank entering their Week 18 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks?
On SI: No. 10
Connor Orr focused on crediting the Rams defense and the impressive performances they have been putting on display week after week. He referred to the Rams last three opponents scoring less than 10 points, something that almost never happens in the NFL.
"While this is an incredibly random sample size—and in this same sample size the Raiders are the No. 1 defense in the NFL in terms of EPA per play—the Rams have been one of the best defenses in the NFL over the last month," Orr wrote. "Sean McVay’s club is winning shootouts but has also now gone three straight weeks without allowing double-digit points (one of those games was in inclement weather, though another was against a Jets team at home in cold weather, which would seem to be disadvantageous to the Rams)."
NFL.com: No. 12
Eric Edholm made sure to acknowledge how special it has been for this team to climb out of the gutter and turn something out of nothing this season. He also made the point that the Rams somewhat have something to play for this week as they could risk losing the No. 3 seed with a loss.
"The Rams' tremendous bounce back from their 1-4 start to the season cannot go overlooked, as they're only the 12th team since 1990 to make the playoffs -- and just the ninth to win their division -- after such a start," Edholm wrote. "They've been in virtually every game since mid-September and have two of the best, Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford in football's two most important roles come playoff time. Even so, the offense could use a little pick-me-up. The Rams scored 44 points against the Bills in Week 14, then scored that manytotalin their past three games combined. They are in an interesting spot. Week 18 isn't devoid of meaning for them; they risk dropping from the third seed (meaning they'd host the Packers or Commanders) to the fourth spot (meaning they'd likely face the Lions or the Vikings) with a loss to Seattle. In a similar position a year ago, McVay rested some starters, including Stafford, prior to the playoffs. Whatever McVay decides to do this time around, far be it from me to question him. He's built up a little credibility, you see."
USA Today: No. 8
Nate Davis dropped a fun fact regarding the Rams' method of entry into the playoffs this year. Tied with the Seahawks in overall record, divisional record, and common opponent record, they had to resort to the fourth tiebreaker which was strength of schedule. The Rams ultimately found a way.
"Did you know – they're the first team ever to win a division courtesy of the strength-of-victory tiebreaker?" Davis wrote. "Gonna need some more, uh, strong victories in the coming weeks. They kinda remind you of the 2023 Rams, who entered the postseason on a heater before a one-point loss to Detroit in the wild-card round."
Fox Sports: No. 8
David Helman also gave praise to this group for where they started to where they are at now with one week left in the regular season. The Rams looked to be sellers at the trade deadline that were going to be eyeing down the upcoming draft. Instead, they will battle for another Super Bowl.
"I’ll never get over the Rams’ journey this season," Helman wrote. "From 1-4 in October, debating whether they should trade Cooper Kupp, to winning the division with a week still to play. They’ve proven they can light up scoreboards and hold opponents below 10 points. A true "pretender to contender" story."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as Where Do Rams Rank Entering Week 18?.