NFL Power Ranking(s) Wild Card Edition
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Different source this week, this one is from USA Today. I usually cut/paste from the Rams offical site, but they have yet to do one for this week.
NFL Power Ranking(s)
NFL power rankings roundup: Where do Rams stand among playoff teams?
Cameron DaSilva
January 9, 2024 2:07 pm PT
The NFL playoffs will get underway on Saturday afternoon with Super Wild Card Weekend, including a marquee matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions on Sunday night. There are only 14 teams still vying for a Super Bowl title and while the Rams are still viewed as a long shot to win it all, but they shouldn’t be counted out.
Experts around the internet released their initial playoff power rankings this week, putting the 14 remaining teams in order from best to worst. The Rams are widely seen as a top-10 team but their march to the Super Bowl won’t be easy.
Here’s a roundup of the latest power rankings before the wild-card round.
Touchdown Wire: No. 7
The Rams are as dangerous and as hot as any team in football right now. They won their last four games down the stretch, and the offense is as scary as any team in the playoffs. Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams, Cooper Kupp, and Puka Nacua- how many quartets are you taking over that of the Rams? Not many.
USA TODAY: No. 11
Another team nobody expected to see here, the Los Angeles Rams blew everyone away with a solid offense headlined by breakout running back Kyren Williams and standout rookie receiver Puka Nacua. The Rams were locked into the NFC’s sixth seed prior to Week 18 but were able to gain some momentum in the final week of the regular season with a win over division rival San Francisco.
The Athletic: No. 8
The Rams’ playoff matchup is the reason everyone jokes about the NFL being scripted. The storylines don’t get much stronger than Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford going back to Detroit, where he spent 12 mostly fruitless seasons, to face Jared Goff, the quarterback the Rams included as an afterthought in the Stafford deal who is now playing the best football of his career. The smart money says the Detroit crowd will cheer Stafford in his return … right up until kickoff.
CBS Sports: No. 9
As the sixth seed, they are a real threat in the NFC. Matt Stafford vs. his former team will be interesting to start the postseason.
Bleacher Report: No. 9
The Los Angeles Rams’ victory over the San Francisco 49ers didn’t mean that much given that mostly second-stringers were playing, but it did end a skid against the Niners by the Rams.
But what does mean something is that the Rams had already sewn up a playoff spot-and now Matthew Stafford will return to Detroit to face the Lions in the playoffs.
NFL.com: No. 10
Everything about this Rams team screams dangerous heading into the playoffs — except for a kicking situation that continues to confound. The storyline heading into the Super Wild Card Weekend game against the Lions will be the obvious one: Matthew Stafford coming back to face his old team for the first time in Detroit. (He already got the first reunion out of the way in Los Angeles in Week 7 of the 2021 season, during the Rams’ run to the Super Bowl, but there will be no downplaying this upcoming high-stakes rematch.) There are some matchups that favor the Rams, with rookie record-breaker Puka Nacua and a rested Cooper Kupp set to face a thinned Detroit secondary. The Lions might also be without their rookie pass-catching star, TE Sam LaPorta. But will it matter if the Rams don’t have any confidence in whoever ends up kicking for them? The special teams uncertainty is the biggest thing that scares me about this group.
ProFootballTalk: No. 7
Jared Goff vs. Sean McVay is a much better storyline than Matthew Stafford returning to Detroit.
Pro Football Network: No. 10
The Rams are dangerous. They began 2023 as a historically young roster filled with low-level draftees and undrafted free agents surrounded by a few stalwarts. But this season proves just how much nailing a single draft class can turn around a franchise. They hit home runs on most of their selections. Puka Nacua headlines the class, but Steve Avila, Byron Young, and Kobie Turner have all made a massive difference this season. They're rested and get a great matchup against the Detroit Lions in the first round.
BeachBoy
NFL Power Ranking(s)
NFL power rankings roundup: Where do Rams stand among playoff teams?
Cameron DaSilva
January 9, 2024 2:07 pm PT
The NFL playoffs will get underway on Saturday afternoon with Super Wild Card Weekend, including a marquee matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions on Sunday night. There are only 14 teams still vying for a Super Bowl title and while the Rams are still viewed as a long shot to win it all, but they shouldn’t be counted out.
Experts around the internet released their initial playoff power rankings this week, putting the 14 remaining teams in order from best to worst. The Rams are widely seen as a top-10 team but their march to the Super Bowl won’t be easy.
Here’s a roundup of the latest power rankings before the wild-card round.
Touchdown Wire: No. 7
The Rams are as dangerous and as hot as any team in football right now. They won their last four games down the stretch, and the offense is as scary as any team in the playoffs. Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams, Cooper Kupp, and Puka Nacua- how many quartets are you taking over that of the Rams? Not many.
USA TODAY: No. 11
Another team nobody expected to see here, the Los Angeles Rams blew everyone away with a solid offense headlined by breakout running back Kyren Williams and standout rookie receiver Puka Nacua. The Rams were locked into the NFC’s sixth seed prior to Week 18 but were able to gain some momentum in the final week of the regular season with a win over division rival San Francisco.
The Athletic: No. 8
The Rams’ playoff matchup is the reason everyone jokes about the NFL being scripted. The storylines don’t get much stronger than Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford going back to Detroit, where he spent 12 mostly fruitless seasons, to face Jared Goff, the quarterback the Rams included as an afterthought in the Stafford deal who is now playing the best football of his career. The smart money says the Detroit crowd will cheer Stafford in his return … right up until kickoff.
CBS Sports: No. 9
As the sixth seed, they are a real threat in the NFC. Matt Stafford vs. his former team will be interesting to start the postseason.
Bleacher Report: No. 9
The Los Angeles Rams’ victory over the San Francisco 49ers didn’t mean that much given that mostly second-stringers were playing, but it did end a skid against the Niners by the Rams.
But what does mean something is that the Rams had already sewn up a playoff spot-and now Matthew Stafford will return to Detroit to face the Lions in the playoffs.
NFL.com: No. 10
Everything about this Rams team screams dangerous heading into the playoffs — except for a kicking situation that continues to confound. The storyline heading into the Super Wild Card Weekend game against the Lions will be the obvious one: Matthew Stafford coming back to face his old team for the first time in Detroit. (He already got the first reunion out of the way in Los Angeles in Week 7 of the 2021 season, during the Rams’ run to the Super Bowl, but there will be no downplaying this upcoming high-stakes rematch.) There are some matchups that favor the Rams, with rookie record-breaker Puka Nacua and a rested Cooper Kupp set to face a thinned Detroit secondary. The Lions might also be without their rookie pass-catching star, TE Sam LaPorta. But will it matter if the Rams don’t have any confidence in whoever ends up kicking for them? The special teams uncertainty is the biggest thing that scares me about this group.
ProFootballTalk: No. 7
Jared Goff vs. Sean McVay is a much better storyline than Matthew Stafford returning to Detroit.
Pro Football Network: No. 10
The Rams are dangerous. They began 2023 as a historically young roster filled with low-level draftees and undrafted free agents surrounded by a few stalwarts. But this season proves just how much nailing a single draft class can turn around a franchise. They hit home runs on most of their selections. Puka Nacua headlines the class, but Steve Avila, Byron Young, and Kobie Turner have all made a massive difference this season. They're rested and get a great matchup against the Detroit Lions in the first round.
BeachBoy
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 | BeachBoy | 180 | January 09, 2024 04:10PM |
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