5 NFL teams that must win in Week 17

The final week of the 2018 season has arrived and these five teams need to pick up a win in Week 17.

Last week this list included the Dallas Cowboys, the Oakland Raiders, the Seattle Seahawks, the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Of those five teams, only the Steelers failed to secure a victory. As it stands, that loss could be detrimental to their playoff hopes, as now they need some help to reach the playoffs.

This week, most teams are playing for playoff seeding, however there are a handful of spots left to fight for. In the AFC, the Ravens and Steelers are fighting for one spot, while the Colts and Titans are fighting for another. The NFC is a bit more simple, with only the Vikings and Eagles trying to secure the final playoff berth.

Let’s start with the Los Angeles Rams who have a pretty simple goal this week.

5. Los Angeles Rams

The Rams face off against the San Francisco 49ers who have played some pretty good football in recent weeks. This rag-tag group defeated the Seahawks and had a fighter’s chance against the Bears, who knows what they will be able to do to the Rams who may be without Todd Gurley.

The Rams need to win to secure the number two seed in the NFC, meaning they get a bye and do not have to play on Wild Card Weekend. Should they lose to the 49ers and the Bears beat the Vikings, the Rams will fall to the third seed and be forced to play next weekend. Obviously, McVay and the Rams would prefer the former, getting one extra week to nurse some injuries.

Should Gurley sit out again, C.J. Anderson should get another heavy load. Although the Rams are favored by ten points, I envision this game being much closer than that as the 49ers will have the motivation of being able to spoil a division rival’s playoff positioning.