Sport replace (Saturday afternoon): The Cincinnati Bengals’ thrilling additional time win over the Denver Broncos is likely one of the 3.5 wins the Los Angeles Rams have to clinch the NFC West in Week 17, offered they defeat the Arizona Cardinals tonight.
Saturday’s NFL tripleheader attracts to a detailed when the Arizona Cardinals tackle the Los Angeles Rams in an NFC West showdown at SoFi Stadium.
Whereas the Cardinals have already been eradicated from playoff rivalry, the Rams can clinch the NFC West — and eradicate the Seattle Seahawks from the postseason — with a win over Arizona, after which plenty of assist.
Let’s break all of it down.
Rams playoff image
Getting into Week 17, the Rams had three pathways to clinching the NFC West title. The primary two required the Seahawks to lose on Thursday evening in opposition to the Chicago Bears, however Seattle’s 6-3 victory erased these two pathways for Los Angeles.
They nonetheless have a approach they’ll clinch the division, however it will get us deep into the tiebreakers.
If the Rams lose on Saturday evening, the Week 18 recreation between Seattle and Los Angeles is for the division title.
Nevertheless, if the Rams win, Seattle successful on Thursday evening — and once more in Week 18 — is probably not sufficient to clinch the division title for the Seahawks. Why? A Seahawks Week 18 win on this situation would have each groups at 10-7. They might have cut up the season sequence (the primary tiebreaker), they might have the identical division report (the second tiebreaker), they might have the identical information in frequent video games (the third tiebreaker), and the identical report in NFC video games (the fourth tiebreaker).
That would depart the fifth tiebreaker, the unusual “power of victory” tiebreaker.
For the time being, the Rams have the sting in that fifth tiebreaker, due to wins over the Buffalo Payments and the Minnesota Vikings. They will clinch that fifth tiebreaker — and the division — in the event that they get 3.5 wins from these groups over the remainder of Week 17: The Vikings (in opposition to the Inexperienced Bay Packers), the Payments (in opposition to the New York Jets), the San Francisco 49ers (in opposition to the Detroit Lions), the Washington Commanders (in opposition to the Atlanta Falcons), the Cincinnati Bengals (in opposition to the Denver Broncos) and the Cleveland Browns (in opposition to the Miami Dolphins).
If a mixture of 4 of these groups win, and the Rams win on Saturday evening, Los Angeles has received the NFC West and the Seahawks are eradicated. Nevertheless, a Rams loss, or a Rams win plus three or much less of these groups successful above, and the Week 18 recreation between Seattle and Los Angeles is for the NFC West.
Additionally it is price noting that underneath tiebreaker procedures, a tie counts as a half-win. So technically Los Angeles wants three wins and a tie to clinch the fifth tiebreaker.
What Rams-Cardinals means for different NFC playoff hopefuls
The one different crew with a vested curiosity in Rams-Cardinals is Seattle. A Rams loss means Seattle can win the NFC West in Week 18 with a win over the Rams. A Los Angeles win then places these different video games — and the fifth tiebreaker — into play.
Tiebreaker implications
The primary tiebreaker implication from this recreation pertains to the potential fifth tiebreaker situation between the Rams and the Seahawks.
