Revenge of the Birds
The Arizona Cardinals are getting ready for their rubber match against the Los Angeles Rams this Sunday. With Arizona being 3-13-0, the only thing they have to play for is pride, a job interview, and avoiding being the only squad in franchise history to lose 14 games in a single season.
RELATED: CARDINALS HUGE UNDERDOGS AGAINST RAMS
For the Rams (11-5-0), the franchise has already secured a playoff spot in this year’s postseason tournament. A win over Arizona would allow the team to retain its #5 seed, whereas a loss could drop them down to the #6 seed, depending on what the San Francisco 49ers do this weekend.
Regardless, the Rams have no chance at capturing the NFC West Division, which would have given them some home playoff games. The Seattle Seahawks and 49ers square off on Saturday evening. Los Angeles versus Arizona is the Sunday afternoon game, so the Rams will know whether they are the #5 or #6 seed by kickoff.
It would make sense to rest some starters and avoid an injury, and allow bodies to rest. The Los Angeles Chargers have captured the #6 seed in the AFC and announced they are resting players, including starting QB Justin Herbert. Other teams will follow this trend, like Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen against the New York Jets. This is a standard practice for Week 18.
If you play fantasy football and are in the championship game this weekend, you’d better check to see if your starters are going to be inactive or will play.
LINK: WEEK 18 QUARTERBACKS WHO WILL PLAY OR SIT
Which begs the question: Will the Rams rest their starters against the Cardinals with nothing to gain?
According to LA head coach Sean McVay, that answer is “no.” Sarah Barshop of ESPN Los Angeles discussed this scenario with McVay. He stated:
“Oh, we’re playing. Yeah, they’re playing.”
Los Angeles has lost two games in a row, including the 27-24 stunner to the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football. Perhaps McVay doesn’t want to see a situation with his roster entering the first round of the playoffs with a three-game losing streak.
McVay explained his motive:
“No, they were going to play anyway. We need to play. We need to play better football. So, I don’t know what the consequences are in those different types of things, but we got to play better.”
The Rams were in full control of winning the division back when they were up 30-14 in the fourth quarter against the Seahawks in Week 16. Then Seattle came roaring back and scored a two-point conversion to win 38-37 in overtime. They have now lost three of five games.
The loss to the Seahawks in a game they had won was a heartbreaker. The subsequent loss to the Falcons was just an embarrassment. Many had penciled the Rams into the Super Bowl this year. At one time, they appeared to be the best team in the NFC and had complete...
