The Los Angeles Rams are coming off a massive Week 11 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Beating their in-division rival was huge, as the Rams are now 8-2 while the Seahawks are 7-3, and Los Angeles holds the tie-breaker.
With a lead in the division, the Rams can now look to their chances of securing the number one seed in the NFC. The Philadelphia Eagles hold that spot through 11 weeks, as they have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Rams.
However, according to Ali Bhanpuri of NFL.com, the Rams are favored to clinch the NFC’s top seed, despite the Eagles’ tiebreaker over Los Angeles.
How Rams are favored to clinch No.1 seed in NFC over Eagles
“In fact,” Bhanpuri writes, “the Rams currently boast the highest probability to finish No. 1 overall (42%), which is notable, considering the Eagles (41%) are already 7-1 in conference play (the Rams are 3-2 and own the H2H tie-breaker.”
For the Rams to secure the number one seed, they would need to close out the year with a better record than the Eagles, since Philadelphia holds the tie-breaker.
There’s not a huge difference between the Rams and Eagles’ chances of securing the top seed in the conference, but it’s noteworthy due to the lack of a tie-breaker for the Rams.
Comparing the two teams’ rest-of-season schedules, there’s reason to believe the Rams can make up that difference and finish with more wins than the Eagles.
Los Angeles plays the Arizona Cardinals twice, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks, and Atlanta Falcons once each.
The Cardinals and Falcons both have losing records, and the Rams will get three games against those teams. Add on that the Rams face the Panthers, Buccaneers, and Lions, all of which are 6-4 or 6-5.
The Seahawks matchup will be a huge one, but based on how they played Seattle in Week 11, the Rams are more than capable of winning such a tough matchup.
On the other side, the Eagles face the Washington Commanders twice, and the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo Bills, and Las Vegas Raiders once.
Similar to the Rams, the Eagles get to face the worst team in their division twice at the end of the year. But the Cowboys, Bears, Chargers, and Bills are all tough matchups.
Despite the similarities between these schedules, the Rams are favored (by one percent) to win the NFC’s number one seed. With seven games left, the Rams would need to win one more game than the Eagles to secure the number one seed and the first-round bye.
Securing the number one seed would be a big deal, as it would give the Rams a trip to the Divisional round and also ensure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
This race will be one of the closest ones to follow as the regular season unfolds. While the Rams don’t control their own destiny for the number one seed, they’re still favored by one percent to beat out the Eagles for the top spot in the NFC.
Be the first to comment