Turf Show Times
The Los Angeles Rams are currently on pace to tie the most wins in a single season during the Sean McVay era. If the Rams win out and beat the Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals, they will finish the season 13-4. Despite that, it is very possible that they don’t play a single home game in the playoffs and there is an argument to be made that they could be 15-2.
With the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers winning in Week 17, the Rams cannot repeat as NFC West champions and they cannot get a bye week and the No. 1 seed. Within the last month, the Rams blew a 16-point fourth quarter lead to the Seahawks and were the only NFC West team this season, including the Arizona Cardinals, to not beat the Carolina Panthers.
Instead of playing at SoFi Stadium where the Rams are 6-1 this season, they very likely will have to win three consecutive road games to make the Super Bowl. This is the bed that the Rams have made and now they have to lay in it.
It’s a similar bed that they made in 2020 when they had the No. 1 overall defense. In 2020, the Rams found ways to lose to the 0-13 New York Jets and a 49ers team led by Nick Mullens. This season, the Rams found ways to lose to a Mac Jones-led 49ers team and the Panthers. What if the Rams had been the No. 3 seed in 2020? Instead of traveling to Lambeau Field in the divisional round, the Rams may have played in New Orleans against a Saints team hanging on to the end of an era. Had they won that, they could have hosted a Buccaneers team that they beat earlier in the year in the NFC Championship game.
As one of my favorite athletes of all-time, Rafael Nadal said, “If, if, if…doesn’t exist.”
However, it’s those seasons that are looked back on and seen as years that got away. The Rams arguably had a Super Bowl-winning roster in 2020, but a quarterback that wasn’t ready and an untimely injury to Aaron Donald held them back.
In 1978, the Rams went 12-4 and were the No. 1 seed. In the NFC Championship, they hosted the Dallas Cowboys, a team they beat earlier in the season. The tRams lost 28-0. Since DVOA was introduced in 1978, that team ranks fifth and has the second-best defense.
The Rams lost to the Minnesota Vikings in 1976 in the NFC Championship after going 10-3-1. That game was played under 20 degrees. In 1974, the Rams had to travel to Minnesota for the NFC Championship. After seven penalties, three lost fumbles, and two interceptions, the Rams lost 14-10 to a team they had beaten in the regular season. More recently, the 2020 season certainly comes to mind as one that got away, in addition to the 2003 season.
While the Rams may not win the division or get the NFC’s...
