The Los Angeles Rams have been pushing their way into the NFL playoff picture in recent weeks. And that continued Thursday night, when the Rams went on the road and notched a 12-6 victory over the San Francisco 49ers to kick off the league's Week 15 action.
Although the Rams still aren't in a playoff position quite yet, they've improved to 8-6 with three consecutive wins. They've won seven of nine since their 1-4 start, and they're pulling close to NFC wild-card contenders such as the Washington Commanders (8-5) and the Green Bay Packers (9-4).
Week 15 is set to resume with 13 games on Sunday and will conclude with a pair of Monday night matchups. The playoff landscape has the potential to change, so it will be interesting to see what developments occur prior to Week 16.
Here's a look at the current playoff picture for both conferences, followed by some predictions for how things will unfold down the stretch.
AFC Playoff Picture
Bye: No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs (12-1, clinched AFC West)
No. 2 Buffalo Bills (10-3, clinched AFC East) vs. No. 7 Denver Broncos (8-5)
No. 3 Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3) vs. No. 6 Los Angeles Chargers (8-5)
No. 4 Houston Texans (8-5) vs. No. 5 Baltimore Ravens (8-5)
In the hunt: Indianapolis Colts (6-7), Miami Dolphins (6-7), Cincinnati Bengals (5-8),
The Texans can clinch the AFC South title this week. That will happen if they beat the Dolphins and the Colts also lose to the Broncos.
The Steelers will clinch a playoff berth if they beat the Eagles or tie. But they would also clinch if the Dolphins (at Houston) and the Colts (at Denver) both lose or tie.
NFC Playoff Picture
Bye: No. 1 Detroit Lions (12-1, clinched playoff berth)
No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles (11-2, clinched playoff berth) vs. No. 7 Washington Commanders (8-5)
No. 3 Seattle Seahawks (8-5) vs. No. 6 Green Bay Packers (9-4)
No. 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6) vs. No. 5 Minnesota Vikings (11-2)
In the hunt: Los Angeles Rams (8-6), Atlanta Falcons (6-7), Arizona Cardinals (6-7), San Francisco 49ers (6-8), New Orleans Saints (5-8), Dallas Cowboys (5-8), Chicago Bears (4-9), Carolina Panthers (3-10)
The Vikings can clinch a playoff berth this week with a win over the Bears or a tie. They would also clinch if the Seahawks lose or tie against the Packers.
The Eagles can clinch the NFC East title if they beat the Steelers and the Commanders either lose or tie against the Saints. Philadelphia would also clinch the division with a tie and a Washington loss.
Predictions
The top seven teams in the AFC will all go on to make the playoffs
The Texans, Ravens, Chargers and Broncos may all be 8-5, but it doesn't feel like any of those teams are in danger of falling out of the playoffs. The Colts, Dolphins and Bengals are the only teams that could still push their way in, and they each feel unlikely to do so.
Indianapolis has a challenging road matchup this week in Denver, and a loss there would greatly hurt the Colts' playoff chances. At that point, their light remaining schedule may not matter (vs. Titans, at Giants, vs. Jaguars).
Miami could fall further out of the mix with a loss at Houston this week, while Cincinnati may not have enough time left to make up ground. So don't expect any huge AFC shakeups.
The Commanders should finish strong enough to make the playoffs
Before a Week 14 bye, Washington snapped its three-game losing streak with a critical home win over Tennessee. Now, the Commanders return to action with a favorable road matchup against the Saints.
Although Washington still has two tougher games against Philadelphia (Week 16) and Atlanta (Week 17), both of those games are at home. Then, the Commanders close out the regular season in Dallas in Week 18.
The prediction here is that Washington will finish strong enough to get back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2020 season.
The Rams will win the NFC West
Although the Seahawks currently lead the NFC West, that may not be the case for long. The surging Rams continue to roll, and they should continue that in Week 15, when they'll go on the road to face the struggling New York Jets.
It's possible that Seattle and Los Angeles will both be 8-6 by the time Week 14 is over. The Seahawks have a challenging Sunday night matchup vs. the Packers coming up.
A Week 18 showdown between the Seahawks and Rams in Los Angeles could decide the NFC West champion. But if the Rams keep playing as well as they have been, they could be difficult to stop.
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