Saturday's NFL tripleheader draws to a close. arizona cardinals undertake the Los Angeles Rams in an NFC West showdown at SoFi Stadium.
The Cardinals have already been eliminated from playoff contention, but the Rams could clinch the NFC West title and potentially eliminate them from the NFC West. seattle seahawks They won against Arizona in the postseason and got a lot of help after that.
Let's break it all down.
rams playoff photos
Entering Week 17, the Rams had three paths to winning the NFC West title. The Seahawks needed to lose the first two games on the road Thursday night. chicago bearsbut Seattle's 6-3 victory erased those two paths for Los Angeles.
They still have a way to finalize the division, but that would send us into a tiebreaker.
If the Rams lose on Saturday night, the Week 18 game between Seattle and Los Angeles will be contested for the division title.
But even if the Rams win, Seattle's win Thursday night and again in Week 18 may not be enough for the Seahawks to win the division title. why? If the Seahawks win in Week 18 in this scenario, both teams will be 10-7. They split the season series (first tie-break), had the same division record (second tie-break), had the same record in common games (third tie-break), and had the same record in NFC games (fourth tie-break). break).
If that happens, there will be a fifth tie-break left, and an unusual tie-break based on “strength of victory” will be held.
For now, the Rams have the advantage in the fifth tiebreaker thanks to the win. buffalo bills and minnesota vikings. If they can get 3.5 wins from these teams over the remainder of Week 17, they can clinch a fifth tiebreaker and clinch the district championship: Vikings (vs. green bay packers), Bills (against) new york jets), san francisco 49ers (against detroit lions), commander of washington (against atlanta falcons), cincinnati bengals (against denver broncos)and cleveland browns (against miami dolphins).
If four of these teams win, and the Rams win on Saturday night, Los Angeles will win the NFC West and the Seahawks will be eliminated. However, if the Rams lose, or the Rams win, and three or fewer of the teams listed above win, the Week 18 Seattle-Los Angeles game will be an NFC West game.
In the tie-breaking procedure, A tie is considered a half-win.. So, technically, Los Angeles needs three wins and one tie to clinch a fifth tiebreaker.
What Rams vs. Cardinals means for other NFC playoff hopefuls
The only other team with a stake in Rams vs. Cardinals is Seattle. If the Rams lose, Seattle will win the NFC West in Week 18 with a win against the Rams. If Los Angeles wins, another game and a fifth tiebreaker will begin.
Impact on tiebreak
The main tiebreak implications from this game relate to a potential fifth tiebreak scenario between the Rams and Seahawks.
