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Rams Clinch No. 5 Seed With Week 18 Win, Draw Panthers in Wild-Card Round

Seattle’s defeat of San Francisco positioned Los Angeles to take the top wild-card slot by winning the finale.

Overview

  • Head coach Sean McVay followed through on playing his starters in Week 18 despite having already secured a playoff berth.
  • The win sets up a road wild-card game at Carolina, avoiding a tougher No. 6 path that likely would have led to Philadelphia or Chicago.
  • Oddsmakers sharply increased Los Angeles’ advantage before kickoff, pushing the spread to about two touchdowns after the Seahawks’ result.
  • Arizona closed at 3-13 after an eight-game losing streak, focusing on evaluations with the season already lost.
  • Los Angeles entered the finale on a two-game slide, using the matchup to regain form ahead of the postseason.