Rams robbed of moment of celebration despite playoffs being virtually certain

The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Arizona Cardinals 13-9 on Saturday night to win the NFC West, but no one is celebrating like they’re going to the playoffs. That’s because in the NFL, the only thing that matters when it comes to winning is certainty, and no one wants to get the ball to the goal line like DeSean Jackson. But they will say that “something stranger has happened” than the Rams losing to the Seahawks in the NFC West next week.

I don’t know if that’s true. The odds for the Rams to win the NFC West are over 99%, and based on nearly 150,000 simulations on The Upshot, LA wins the division almost every time.

To lose the division at this point, the Seahawks would need to pull off a parlay in Las Vegas where no one would bother wasting a dollar.

Not only does Seattle need to beat the Rams in Week 18, they essentially need about nine other teams to win games over the next eight days. This means there is a winner in the NFC West, but the Rams are almost certain to be the starters in Week 18, as the division championship will most likely be decided before the Rams host Seattle. Despite all that, L.A.’s celebration was oddly incomplete Saturday night.

Even if the Seahawks win next week, the Rams still have a better than 99% chance of winning the NFC West before you calculate anything else into LA’s odds of winning the NFC West. Because next week’s game will continue to be meaningless unless Seattle wins the bet over and over and over again. If they fail, the Rams could benefit.

For a team that started the season 1-4 and nearly clinched the district title by Week 18, the Rams should be celebrating. But perhaps this will work in Sean McVay’s favor.

The Rams are excited, but maybe not too excited.

If the Seahawks can keep their hopes alive until this weekend (even if they get all five wins needed this weekend, the odds would still be less than 4%), it’s as if McVay Week 18 matters. It would also mean that we would need to prepare our team for. If the Seahawks lose on Sunday, it would be the news LA is hoping for because it would mean a division championship.

It also means that players’ minds have already started wandering because “Week 18 doesn’t matter.” And it almost certainly doesn’t matter anyway and most starters will sit out.

But players don’t need to know that.

So even if the Rams don’t get to celebrate a district title Saturday night, that’s not what they want to celebrate anyway. Winning the NFC West is nothing new for Sean McVay. LA doesn’t “need” a division title or playoff games. No, the Rams need to make the playoffs.

Stafford needs to get back to the Super Bowl to help him win the Super Bowl in 2021.

The players celebrated the win, but not the division title. That may be good for them in the long run.