Here's How Rams Can Clinch A Playoff Spot In Week 17

The Los Angeles Rams can make their return to the playoffs official if this week's slate plays out the right way.

The Los Angeles Rams have been surging lately, winning five of their past six games to thrust themselves back into the thick of the NFC playoff picture.

The Rams, who won Super Bowl 56 but had a miserable 2022 season due a variety of factors, have looked much more like a team that recently won a championship since their bye week. 

Even their one loss in that time came against the Baltimore Ravens, arguably the best team in the league right now, in overtime and on the road. Many had counted the Rams out before and during the season, but they have certainly turned a lot of heads lately.

L.A. is on the verge of returning to the playoffs, and it can make it official in Week 17. Obviously, the Rams need to beat the New York Giants on Sunday to clinch a playoff spot, but they also need one of two additional results to go their way.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford

The first, and far more simple, scenario is that the 8-7 Seattle Seahawks lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday afternoon. The second, much more difficult, route is if the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, both 7-8, tie each other on Sunday night.

While the Rams are oh so close to returning to the postseason, they aren't letting the playoff picture impact their mindset ahead of the Giants game.

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"It really doesn't because the reality is... this is like self-talk I tell myself, you're watching it, watch it with an unemotional approach because fortunately or however you look at it, we've got to continue to try to get results that we want for us to be relevant in these conversations and that's just the truth," coach Sean McVay told reporters Tuesday.

For a team that many wrote off long ago, a return to the playoffs would be nothing short of amazing for the Rams.