Are the Rams Willing to Give Buccaneers a Better Seed in NFL Playoffs?

The Los Angeles Rams seem content with simply winning the NFC West and aren't concerned about having a higher seed than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Dec 22, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay coaches against the New York Jets during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Every coach has his own approach to the importance of playoff seeding, and Todd Bowles' focus is surely on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers securing a spot before worrying about how high a spot it is.

To do that and win their fourth-straight NFC South Division, the Buccaneers need to beat or tie the New Orleans Saints this Sunday afternoon. If they fail to do so and the Atlanta Falcons lose to the Carolina Panthers, they will win the division anyway.

Clinching the division would guarantee Tampa Bay one of the top-four seeds in the NFC Playoffs, but whether that seed would be third or fourth depends on the Los Angeles Rams. Assuming Bowles' team wins, if the Rams lose, then the Bucs would be No. 3, not No. 4. And that's an outcome Los Angeles head coach Sean McVay is apparently not all that worried about.

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"I think you have a responsibility as a head coach and really with your coaching staff to collaborate and say, 'Hey, we're going to compete every opportunity that we get,' and you don't minimize the importance of every single game, but relative to what's at risk, what's at reward in terms of either or and being able to maybe get some guys there, the toll that a season takes, get 'em back, refresh rejuvenated," McVay said in an interview with the team's site when asked about the decision to go after the No. 3 seed or to rest players as he's done in the past. "Typically, we've erred on the side of leaning a little bit more toward that and I would imagine as we continue to finalize our plans, that's probably the direction that we'll go."

That's a lot of words for McVay to say there's more value in resting key players than getting the No. 3 seed, and they'll likely prioritize rest over competitive advantage this weekend.

That, of course, opens up the door to Seattle gaining an edge on the Rams and potentially getting the win that would help the Buccaneers secure the third seed in the NFC. If they do so, they'll host either the Washington Commanders, who the team beat in Week 1 of the regular season, or the Green Bay Packers.

McVay also listed a handful of players he's looking forward to seeing get more time this weekend just 'off the cuff' that certainly leads to the belief that Los Angeles isn't fielding their 'A-Team' this weekend with playoff seeding hanging in the balance.

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