Rams will have key advantage over Giants in Week 17

The NFC playoff scenario is beginning to take shape. In Week 16, Thursday Night Football saw the Los Angeles Rams defeat the New Orleans Saints, which helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take the lead in the NFC South.

In Week 17, LA will travel to play the New York Giants, and they will be much ahead of the “big blue.”

This late in the NFL season, sleep is precious. Over the course of the 17-game marathon, Cooper Kupp, Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua, and Kyren Williams—a few of the Rams’ most important players—have battled injuries.

They now have the benefit of their “mini-bye” after hosting the Saints on Thursday night. Meanwhile, the Giants are in Philadelphia playing the Eagles on Christmas Day. That gives Los Angeles a four-day break to recover and prepare for their important trip to New York.

The Rams’ schedule has put them at a disadvantage by playing four teams coming off of their bye week. LA managed only a 1-3 record in such games.

At least the table has turned somewhat ahead of a must-win matchup. A victory would keep the Rams in the sixth seed with one final game to play against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 18. Time will tell if the 49ers will lock up the first seed in the NFC Conference and if the team will rest key players when they host the Rams for the regular season finale.

Rest is definitely needed for Sean McVay’s team, especially in light of the long list of injuries sustained at MetLife Stadium, the site of the Rams’ game against the Giants the following weekend.

Join the conversation in the comments area as the Giants, LA’s next opponent, take on their NFC East division rivals, the Eagles, on Christmas Day. With the Rams on the rise, do Tommy DeVito and New York have a shot against them, or will Los Angeles lose by a wide enough margin to make the playoffs still incredibly close?

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