The Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks went head-to-head on Thursday Night Football in Week 16 in a matchup that held massive playoff implications for the NFC West. The Rams held a 30-14 fourth quarter lead, but collapsed down the stretch and lost 38-37 in overtime.
This comes just a week after the Bucs blew a 28-14 fourth quarter lead against the Falcons on Thursday night, and perhaps it takes some of the attention away from the Bucs' collapse. Buccaneers fans may be wondering what an NFC West showdown has to do with Tampa Bay -- and the answer is, quite a lot.
With their victory, Seattle now controls their own destiny toward winning the NFC West crown and a first-round BYE. That would knock the Rams down to the wild card, and if they end up finishing as the No. 5 seed, they'd have to face the No. 4 seed of the wild card round in the playoffs.
Now, the Bucs making the playoffs is far from a sure thing given how they've been playing since the bye week. But assuming they can finish the season strong and win the NFC South for the fifth straight season, they now look destined for a rematch against the Rams in the opening round.
This scenario is an absolute nightmare for the Buccaneers. The Bucs are 2-4 against Los Angeles since Todd Bowles took over as defensive coordinator in 2019, including a heartbreaking playoff loss in Bowles' first season as the Bucs' head coach in 2022. Sean McVay's offense has the upper hand over Bowles, scoring at least 27 points in five of six matchups.
The teams met earlier this season, and the Rams humiliated the Buccaneers in front of a national audience, defeating Tampa Bay 34-7 on Sunday Night Football. If the teams meet again, there is no reason to believe things will go any differently.
That's not to say that the Seattle Seahawks would've been an easy opponent in the playoffs, but at least the Bucs have proven they can compete with them. Tampa Bay defeated Seattle 38-35 back in Week 5 in an instant classic. The Seahawks have been playing even better since then, while the Bucs have gotten a lot worse, and they'd certainly make a formidable opponent.
Still though, it's hard to picture a worse matchup for Tampa Bay than the Rams, who really have their number. The Bucs' struggles against the Rams go far beyond Bowles and the current era of Bucs football, too. In the last 11 matchups dating back to 2012, Tampa Bay is 2-9 against the Rams.
"Any given Sunday" is how the saying goes, and it would be unfair to completely count the Buccaneers out. But nobody has given them more fits than the Rams, and it would be really unfortunate for the Bucs to finish the season strong and reach the playoffs just to run into the buzzsaw that is Los Angeles in the first round.