2018 NFL Power Rankings: Wild Card edition

8. Los Angeles Rams

11-5 (NFC West champions)

No. 3 Seed in NFC

It’s one of the great turnarounds you will ever see. And not just the fact that the Los Angeles Rams went from a 4-12 season to 11 wins and the team’s first division title since 2003.

Led by young head coach Sean McVay and second-year quarterback Jared Goff, the team rolled up an NFL-best 478 points, along with 45 offensive touchdowns. A year ago, the team’s offensive unit scored just 23 touchdowns while the club managed a league-low 224 points.

It was also comeback year for running back Todd Gurley. The 2015 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year amassed an NFL-best 2,093 yards from scrimmage (1,305 rushing, 788 receiving) and totaled 19 touchdowns in only 15 contests. A year ago, there were 1,212 yards from scrimmage and six scores in 16 contests.

Goff showed his wares as well after a rocky debut campaign. He finished with 3,804 yards though the air and four times as many touchdown passes (28) as interceptions (7). The first overall pick in ’16 hit on 62.1 percent of his throws in 16 outings. Last season, he connected on only 54.6 percent of his passes in seven games.

Under veteran coordinator Wade Phillips and led by all-world defensive tackle Aaron Donald, the Rams were a mixed bag on this side of the ball. While there were 48 sacks and 28 takeaways, this unit didn’t strike fear into the opposition often enough. Combine that with a definitive lack of postseason experience and it’s hard to know what exactly to expect.

Next: No. 7