McVay was too proud to tie. It could’ve cost Rams the 1-seed.

One of the least popular opinions that I’ve shared on Turf Show Times was that the Los Angeles Rams might regret not going for a tie against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 5. My argument was simple: If it was Week 18 instead and you knew that a tie would win you the NFC West division, would it make sense then? If your answer is yes, as it obviously should be, then the value of ties should be considered through the entirety of a season. Not just when it’s obvious.

Well, you can’t know if a tie will play that big of a role that early in the season, but coaches should still consider the possibility that it might, especially against a division rival in a race that you know will be close all season. And now here we are facing the consequences of losing to the 49ers instead of tying:

If the Rams had tied the 49ers in Week 5, they would still be in the running to get the Number One seed in the NFC.

Instead, L.A. is locked into either the 5 or the 6 and they’re letting the 49ers and Seahawks decide who gets to win the division and be in a power position of a bye week and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

A tie, which McVay said was never going to be a consideration, would have not only avoided a costly loss for the Rams, it would have also prevented the 49ers from getting a valuable win over a division opponent. And that’s the reason that L.A. has very little to play for relative to San Francisco and Seattle.

Despite arguably being the best team in the division, if not the NFL, the Rams are stuck in third place and that’s where they could stay going into the playoffs.

But if the Rams had tied the 49ers in Week 5 and everything else stays the same, then they would only need to beat the Falcons and Cardinals, plus a 49ers win over the Seahawks on Saturday, and L.A. would be the number one seed in the conference. The standings would then instead look like this:

• Rams, 13-3-1
• 49ers, 13-4
• Seahawks 13-4

No other team in the conference can win more than 12 games. The Rams would be the number one seed.

Instead of that happening though, the Rams can’t do better than a 5-seed and probably going on the road for the entirety of their playoff run.

How probably was a tie — or a win — if the Rams had elected to kick a field goal in overtime against the 49ers instead of McVay’s self-admittedly bad 4th-and-1 play call?

First, the Rams had 4th-and-1 at the SF11 with 3:41 remaining in overtime.

Any claims that even Josh Karty couldn’t have made that 28-yard field goal is just coping. The Rams make that field goal 98% of the time.

So then the Rams and 49ers would be tied...