NFL playoff picture: What does Rams-Seahawks mean for NFC standings in Week 16

NFL playoff picture: What does Rams-Seahawks mean for NFC standings in Week 16

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The NFL kicks off Week 16 with the biggest matchup of the week. Thursday Night Football will feature the 11-3 Seattle Seahawks hosting the 11-3 Los Angeles Rams. The winner will hold the No. 1 seed in the NFC West, while the loser will be looking at a wild card slot.

The Rams are coming off a tough but critical 41-34 win over the Lions. It was their second straight win and eighth win in nine games. The Seahawks enter the game off an ugly 18-16 win over the Colts. Philip Rivers came back from retirement to nearly lead Indy to victory, but the Seahawks escaped with a game-winning field goal in the closing seconds.

This is the second game between the Rams and Seahawks. LA won at home in Week 11, holding off Seattle in spite of Matthew Stafford throwing four interceptions. The Rams are a 1.5-point road favorite in the matchup.

The Rams clinched a playoff berth this past Sunday, claiming the first spot in the NFC. The Seahawks can clinch a playoff berth this week with a win or a Lions loss. Neither team will clinch the NFC West this week, and it is a good bet the division race comes down to Week 18.

The 49ers sit a game back of the Rams and Seahawks. They split the season series with LA and won the first matchup with Seattle. The 49ers and Seahawks close out the season in Week 18, so this TNF game could turn that matchup into a battle for the division. Heading into Week 16, The Athletic’s playoff simulator gives the Rams a 60% chance of clinching the division, the Seahawks a 27% chance, and the 49ers a 13% chance.

The 49ers travel to face the Colts in Week 18.

The NFC West winner is in a strong position to claim the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The playoff simulator gives the Rams a 56% chance, the Seahawks, 26% chance, and the 49ers a 12% chance. For the time-being, the Rams hold the No. 1 seed, the Seahawks sit in fifth place, and the 49ers are in sixth place. The 49ers and Bears face off in Week 17, which will decide that tiebreaker. The Bears do not face the Rams or Seahawks this season, so it will come down to conference record, common games record, or any of the other tiebreakers.

This game is huge for the NFC West tiebreaker. A Rams win secures the head-to-head tiebreaker for LA. A Seahawks win splits the series and moves it to divisional record or further down the tiebreaker ladder.

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Wednesday’s scheduled game between the Houston Astros and Orioles in Baltimore has been postponed due to inclement weather in the forecast.

The game is scheduled to be made up as part of a single-admission doubleheader on Thursday. The first game is scheduled to begin at 12:35 p.m. ET, with the second contest set to begin approximately 30 to 45 minutes after its completion.


Houston’s Peter Lambert (1-1, 3.27 ERA) will start the first game, while fellow right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. (1-2, 6.75) will get the nod in the nightcap.

The Orioles’ pitching plans for Thursday’s games were not immediately known. Baltimore right-hander Chris Bassitt (1-2, 6.75) was expected to start Wednesday’s game.

–Field Level Media

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Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn received a maximum fine from the NHL Department of Player Safety on Wednesday for cross-checking Ryan Hartman of the Minnesota Wild.

Benn received a fine of $2,604.17, which is the maximum allowable under the league’s collective bargaining agreement.


Benn, 36, is lighter in the wallet after cross-checking Hartman in the ribs and then again in the head late in the third period of Tuesday’s Game 5 of the teams’ Western Conference first-round series.

Benn received a two-minute penalty for cross-checking, while Hartman was whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The Wild posted a 4-2 victory on Tuesday to seize a 3-2 edge in the best-of-seven series. Game 6 is Thursday in St. Paul, Minn.


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The move is retroactive to Sunday, one day after he scattered three hits over six shutout innings in Boston’s 17-1 romp over the Baltimore Orioles. That afternoon game proved to be the last for manager Alex Cora, who was fired on Saturday evening.

Crochet, 26, is 3-3 with a 6.30 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in six appearances (all starts) this season after finishing as the runner-up to the American League Cy Young Award in 2025.


He is 30-27 with a 3.17 ERA in 142 career games (70 starts) with the Chicago White Sox and Red Sox.

Infielder/outfielder Nate Eaton was called up from Triple-A Worcester to take Crochet’s roster spot.

Eaton, 29, was batting .292 with three homers and 12 RBIs with Worcester this season. He is hitting .213 with two homers and 17 RBIs in 113 career games with the Kansas City Royals (2022-23) and Red Sox (2025).

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