Rams Cement Status As NFC's Best With Statement Win Over Lions
Los Angeles ranks in the Top 5 in the NFL in both scoring offense and scoring defense.
The Los Angeles Rams are the best team in the NFC. With a statement win over the Detroit Lions in Week 15, the Rams reminded everyone (after a hiccup two weeks ago against the Carolina Panthers) that Matthew Stafford and company are the team to beat in the conference.
It's not just that the Rams are winning; it's how they're doing it. They look like a reinvented version of the "Greatest Show on Turf" St. Louis Rams that won Super Bowl XXXIV. Their latest performance, a 41-point outburst against the Lions, included 519 yards of total offense. It was the second game in a row that Los Angeles gained more than 500 yards of offense and scored over 40 points. The Rams have scored at least 34 points in six of their past eight games.
With back-to-back 500-yard, 40-point explosions, the Los Angeles Rams look like the NFC’s most complete team and their Week 15 win over the Detroit Lions cements them as the team to beat.
(Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images)
Los Angeles is tied with the Seattle Seahawks for both the NFC West lead and the best record in the NFC. The Rams currently hold the tiebreaker thanks to their head-to-head win in Week 11. The two teams meet again in Week 16.
It's a game that's going to be tougher on the Rams than the Seahawks because the teams are playing in Seattle on Thursday Night Football. Short weeks are tough, but they're even more difficult for the road team, especially since Seattle is coming off a home win over the Indianapolis Colts.
If the Rams find a way to win that game, it puts them on track to receive the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Their final two games come against the 5-9 Atlanta Falcons and 3-11 Arizona Cardinals.
The Rams Made a Statement in Week 15
Regardless of whether they win on Thursday, the Rams are the team to beat in the NFC. All the other contenders in the conference have question marks that the Rams don't have.
The Philadelphia Eagles have yet to find an offensive identity this season. The Green Bay Packers just lost Micah Parsons for the season to a torn ACL. The Seahawks have Sam Darnold at quarterback (yes, he's looked good, but we saw what happened in Minnesota's playoff game last year).
The Chicago Bears have been a pleasant surprise, but Caleb Williams is still too inconsistent to trust for a deep postseason run. The Detroit Lions have lost nearly every game they've played against good opponents (1-3 against teams with a winning record). The San Francisco 49ers have suffered several key injuries on defense.
The Rams are relatively healthy (compared to other contenders), the offense is the best in the league and led by MVP front-runner Matthew Stafford, and the defense ranks in the top five in the NFL in points allowed.
Plus, the Rams have beaten good teams throughout the season. Los Angeles is 8-2 against teams that are .500 or better. Eight of the team's 11 wins have come by at least 10 points. Although Seattle has similar stats to the Rams (both teams are top five in scoring offense and scoring defense), the Seahawks are 4-3 against teams at or above .500 on the year.
Add it all up, and the NFC goes through Los Angeles in 2025.