NFL Playoff Picture: Rams crawl back in wild card race with win over Seahawks

The Los Angeles Rams entered Week 11 trailing the Seattle Seahawks and other teams by three games in the wild card race, but they enter Week 12 trailing by only two games. The Rams beat the Seahawks and improved to 4-6 on the season, just two games behind the Minnesota Vikings for the 6-seed and Seattle for the 7-seed. The Dallas Cowboys hold the top wild card spot right now with a 7-3 record.

There are four teams in the NFC with a 4-6 record: The Rams, Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Washington Commanders are 4-7.

The Rams next face the Arizona Cardinals, a team that fell to 2-9 on Sunday, the second start by quarterback Kyler Murray. If the Rams can beat the Cardinals, they could be as close as a game of the last wild card spot, especially because the Seahawks face the 7-3 San Francisco 49ers on Thursday.

L.A.’s next game after that is at home against the Cleveland Browns, a team currently quarterbacked by rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

If the Rams can get back to .500 in two weeks and sit at 6-6, they will almost certainly be in contention for a wild card berth over the final five games. L.A.’s final five games: Ravens, Commanders, Saints, Giants, and 49ers.

If San Francisco has already clinched a seed by Week 18, it’s possible that the Rams won’t even face Brock Purdy or even any starters. If the Rams can go 6-6, there’s a chance that they could have a very good record over their last four games and easily go above .500, something few predicted.

The health of Cooper Kupp will need to be monitored, as he did leave Sunday’s game with an ankle injury and did not return.