How Seahawks Ugly Win Puts Pressure On Rams in Week 17

The Los Angeles Rams will have a bit more stress this Saturday night when they host the Arizona Cardinals after another division rival, Seattle Seahawks, earned a gross win on Thursday Night Football to stay close behind the Rams for first place.

Dec 26, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) directs a play prior to the snap during the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Talia Sprague-Imagn Images / Talia Sprague-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Rams (9-6) will now head into Week 17 with even more of a must-win situation on their hands as they host their division rival Arizona Cardinals (7-8) at SoFi Stadium on Saturday night. The Rams' other divisional foe has recently made is tougher for them to clinch the division.

On Thursday Night Football, the Seattle Seahawks (9-7) found their way to a 6-3 win over the Chicago Bears, arguably the worst display of football all season long from both sides. Truly the ugliest game all year, surpassing what the Rams and San Francisco 49ers did a few weeks ago in a 12-6 Rams win.

Regardless of the way it happened, the Seahawks are 9-7 and will have a few extra days to prepare for their Week 18 matchup on the road against the Rams. Due to them winning, they are now just a half-game back of the Rams for first place and force the Rams to win to have a chance at clinching.

If the Rams lose on Saturday night to the Cardinals, both them and the Seahawks will be 9-7 with a 3-2 divisional record. That means that the final game of the regular season will be a winner-take-all for the NFC West and a home playoff game. Whoever loses would not get in as a Wild Card team.

If the Rams found a way to win this weekend, they would need help from a few teams to help them clinch before their matchup with the Seahawks. Even still, the tiebreaker will most likely turn out in the Rams favor even with a loss to the Seahawks to end the year.

As much as scoreboard watching will be key to figuring out their divisional title hopes, the focus is to find a win on Saturday night at home and improve to 4-1 in the division. Head coach Sean McVay credited his guys for their ability to keep their eyes on the prize in search of a fifth-straight win.

"What's been really good about our football team is these guys have just been in the moment," McVay said. "You're not naive to what's possibly at stake, but I think our guys have played their best football and they've just focused on... Hey, let's go cut it loose. Let's play to the best of our ability. Let's have a great week of preparation and then let's be totally and completely present in that three-hour window that we're allotted, and let's enjoy doing it."

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