As Los Angeles Rams fight to get into playoffs, perspective looks up after Week 14 performance against Seattle Seahawks

The Los Angeles Rams put on a show in Week 14 against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday Night Football with a dominant win, 28-12.

The win shifts the perspective for the Rams as they try to climb into the playoff picture down the stretch of the 2019 regular season.

Injuries

While the Seahawks lost RB Rashaad Penny and took a couple of other knocks, I don’t think the Rams came out with anything notable. We’ll see if Rams Head Coach Sean McVay discloses anything that will see someone added to the injury report, but the final injury report for this one saw just RT Rob Havenstein and TE Gerald Everett with injury designations. We might just be looking at those two as the only newsworthy issues on the injury front.

I would however put out a note that S John Johnson is nearing the threshold where he might be able to return depending on the condition of his shoulder post-surgery. JJ3 was placed on injured reserve heading into Week 7, so he’s eligible to return soon. Whether he can or not is a medical situation that we might get an update on soon from McVay.

Performance Issues

Nope. The defense was fantastic. The offensive line yet again performed well. It was probably the Rams’ best game of the year with the first half being their best half of the year.

If we’re being comprehensive, I might look at QB Jared Goff’s two interceptions. Neither were necessarily Jared’s “fault,” but moreso the lack of synchronization with his targets on the play. On the first, Goff was leading WR Robert Woods across the field, but Woods sat in between what he anticipated were the zones the defense was covering. On the second, Goff was reading the defense and throwing to a spot he thought WR Brandin Cooks would fill in. He did not, and McVay immediately went to Cooks after the pick to discuss. Not really a big issue, but obviously those are the kinds of plays you do not want to see in closer contests. Hopefully, the offense practices those issues out, and we’re not talking about a similar lack of cohesion in the next three games.

Standings

The win tightens things up at the top, but the division still likely remains out of reach.

I’ve cut off half of the NFC now, but the playoff picture needs to include the 5-7 Philadelphia Eagles. If they beat the New York Giants on Monday Night Football tonight, they’ll be tied for the division lead with the Dallas Cowboys.

The top continues to seesaw week-to-week. The loss for the Seahawks catapults the San Francisco 49ers to the top of the playoff seeding. Only the New Orleans Saints have clinched a playoff spot with the NFC North holding their own three-way fight between the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears.

The Rams will need some help to get in with the likeliest candidate being those 9-4 Vikings. They’ll be in LA in Week 15 to take on the Los Angeles Chargers before closing their season against the NFC North rivals in that trio.