A week 17 game win over the Cardinals and the Los Angeles Rams wished happy New Year to the fans in advance, securing the NFC West. Sitting at the top with 10-6, now it all comes to a season-ending game. No wonder the team will be making some crucial changes if they want to win. And it looks like Sean McVay’s already made his mind up about the starters for Sunday’s game against the Seahawks.

The head coach has confirmed that resting key starters is “probably the direction we’ll go” on Sunday vs. the Seattle team. That means, folks, Jimmy Garoppolo is all set to take the place of Matthew Stafford. The crucial decision may sound terrible, but given Stafford’s workload and the postseason, it can turn out to be a well-crafted plan.

Well, it’s nothing new to rest the starters in the season-ending game for a team that has secured a playoff berth. However, in the case of the Los Angeles team, it’s not coming without merit. Sure, they’ve clinched the NFC West, but the playoff seed is still hanging in the air for the Rams.

As things stand, the Rams are comfortably holding onto the 3rd seed. But here’s where it gets interesting: Seattle’s already out of the playoff race, but if the Rams drop their game to them, and Tampa Bay beats New Orleans Saints, the Rams could slide down to the 4th seed. It’s like one of those ‘never say never’ scenarios as things could flip in the blink of an eye, and it’s all going down this Sunday!

Well, those were some pretty assumptions but now let’s get back to the present. The head coach has made his plan to rest the starters. And in any given case, if the Rams slipped down to the 4th seed, they would still put out an incredible performance.

Sean McVay is comfortable to play against an elite team

Coach McVay’s been at the top of things this season. However, as it appears, the HC wants to face the 14-win team instead of the Commanders or the Packers in the first round. As far as the current status is concerned, the Rams will clash against either the Vikings (14-2) or the Lions (14-2) if they slip to 4th seed.

But here’s the kicker. This isn’t really throwing off the head coach at all. In an interview with the team’s website, McVay stated that the Rams will always compete “relative to what’s at risk.” And as the starters are considered resting in the season-ending game, the coach declared that he’s looking forward to seeing the backup QB, Garoppolo, and the running back, Blake Corum in extended playing time.

As a matter of fact, the Rams are looking for a healthy start in the first round of the playoffs. And if they want to avoid a clash against the 14-win team, along with Garoppolo, the Rams’ fellow backups need to step up for Sunday’s showdown against the Seahawks.