The Los Angeles Rams have overcome a season of adversity to host a home playoff game in the Wild Card round after winning the NFC West. The Rams used a productive second half of the season to propel them to the playoffs.
The Rams entered the final six weeks of the season needing to win as many games as possible to win the division, as anything less than a division title could have meant missing the playoffs altogether.
Rams head coach Sean McVay put together one of his finest seasons as a coach, guiding one of the youngest defenses in the league and a potent but struggling offense to a 5-1 record over the season's final six games. Their lone loss came in Week 18 while resting multiple starters.
Ben Rolfe of Pro Football Network recently released his predictions for every playoff game this weekend. Rolfe believes it will be a close game, but the Rams will fall to the Vikings by one point.
“Regarding the metrics, Minnesota is the better team, but that was the case in Week 8 as well,” Rolfe said. “They are a top-three team on defense, while the Rams are outside the top 20. Additionally, Minnesota ranks 10th offensively, with LA close behind in 12th. The Rams have also played a tougher schedule (4th vs. 11th), which evens things out a bit. The element of this that is impossible to put a number on is experience.
"Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford have done the prime-time game with it all on the line a lot in their careers, while Kevin O’Connell and Sam Darnold have less experience. The Rams have arguably been playing playoff football for the last two or three months, while the Vikings just wilted in front of a national audience in their biggest game of the last decade.”
Many around the league are doubting the Rams, as the Vikings have been the better team over the course of the 18-game season. Still, if there is any team that can beat expectations, it is McVay's Rams team.
It makes sense why the Vikings are favored in the game, but the Rams are arguably better than their record suggests.
Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @RamsInsideronSI and @MNSToday and never miss another breaking news story again.
Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as REPORT: Can the Rams Beat One of the NFL's Top Teams?.