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Sean McVay Hints at Answer to Rams Rest Question in Week 18

By Isaiah De Los Santos

Dec 28, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) sets to pass in the first half against the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Dec 28, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) sets to pass in the first half against the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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The Los Angeles Rams head into Week 18 with a playoff berth and division title already secured, guaranteeing them a top-four seed in the postseason. That reality prompts a legitimate conundrum for Los Angeles, which has a home playoff game guaranteed as the NFC West winner, so there's a lot less at stake for Sean McVay's squad in Week 18.

As a result, the Rams could opt to rest their starters this weekend in order to be better prepared for a matchup that really matters and avoid any injuries that could derail their Super Bowl hopes. Or McVay could play his top players to try and lock up the 3-seed, which would help L.A. avoid either the Detroit Lions or the Minnesota Vikings in the 4 vs. 5 contest on Wild Card Weekend.

Ahead of Sunday's game, it appears McVay is already leaning a certain way.

During his weekly radio show, the Rams head coach noted there "risk" of what could go wrong in Week 18 greatly outweighs any "reward." He also pointed to his history of resting players before and said "that's probably the direction we'll go."

"But relative to what’s at risk, what’s at reward in terms of either or, and being able to maybe get some guys ... back, refreshed, rejuvenated. Typically, we’ve erred on the side of leaning a little bit more towards that and I would imagine as we continue to finalize our plans, that’s probably the direction we’ll go."

- Rams head coach Sean McVay

Some fans may disagree with the approach, but it's likely the wisest one in the grand scheme. Sure, landing a better seed to have a more favorable first-round matchup is nice, but that could very well come at the cost of losing an important player for the postseason run.

Instead, resting L.A.'s key contributors sets them up to come out incredibly strong to begin the playoffs, which could help the team overcome a tougher opponent. Many NFC postseason teams are still battling for seeding in Week 18 as well, so a rested Rams team will have a huge advantage over a squad that just fought for its life on Sunday.

Considering how many great decisions McVay has made since taking over in Los Angeles, the fandom should feel confident in the Rams' HC choice here. even if it isn't the one they'd make.

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