The Rams will face the Seahawks in Week 18, but that game will now be meaningless after Los Angeles got the rarely used STRENGTH OF VICTORY tiebreaker, which is the fifth tiebreaker used if two teams are tied atop their division.
This basically means that even if the Seahawks beat the Rams in Week 18, the Rams would still win the division due to the strength of the win. After beating the Cardinals on Saturday, the Rams had to wait a full-game stretch on Sunday before clinching the tiebreaker.
To win the NFC West title heading into Week 18, the Rams needed at least four wins from six different teams in Week 17: Bengals, Bills, Vikings, Browns, Commanders and 49ers.
The Rams received an early gift on Saturday when the Bengals beat the Broncos in overtime. This was followed on Sunday with victories for the Bills (over the Jets) and the Vikings (over the Packers). The Rams then officially clinched the division after the Commanders pulled off a wild overtime victory over the Falcons on Sunday night.
The Rams are now headed to the postseason for the sixth time in Sean McVay’s eight seasons. This is the fourth time they have won the division under McVay. On two of the three previous occasions, the Rams ended up reaching the Super Bowl.
The fact that the Rams were able to clinch the title this week means they will be able to rest some starters in Week 18 if they want to go that route.
As for the Seahawks, they probably hate the strength of the tiebreaker for the win.
It’s a rarely used tiebreaker that has now only been used four times since 2010, two of them against the Seahawks. Last season, they were tied with the Packers at 9-8 for the final NFC wild card, but lost the playoffs due to the strength of the tiebreaker victory. Losing the SOV tiebreaker two years in a row when it is rarely used is definitely bad luck.
