Beating the 49ers on Thursday night made the Rams 8-6 on the season after starting the year 1-4.
Then, once Seattle lost to Green Bay on Sunday night, Los Angeles moved into first place by virtue of the club’s current head-to-head tiebreaker over the Seahawks.
That means the Rams are now in the driver’s seat for the NFC West crown with three games to go.
“It doesn’t change anything that we’ve talked about for the last handful of weeks,” McVay said of being in first place during his Monday news conference. “Unless the season ended today, it’s all just temporary. We have to continue to be one day at a time, one moment at a time, and one game at a time, like what we’ve been.
“I think it’s a testament to the group to be able to handle some of the things that they’ve handled over the last few weeks, but all of it is not relevant unless we continue to do something about it. The only thing that we can do is have a great week of preparation against a very challenging opponent who we have tremendous respect for.”
The Rams will face the Jets on the road this weekend before ending the regular season at home against the Cardinals in Week 17 and the Seahawks in Week 18.
Geno Smith underwent imaging on his injured knee Monday, and it appears the Seahawks quarterback escaped serious injury.
The MRI showed no structural damage and no fractures.
“We’re fortunate. A lot of positive, optimistic signs coming out of the tests,” head coach Mike Macdonald said Monday, via Brady Henderson of ESPN. “Geno’s a beast, man. He’s in here working out in the morning, working through it. I know he’s still feeling it, but this guy’s tough as nails.”
Smith injured his knee on a low hit from Packers rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper in the third quarter. Smith did not return, playing 35 of 59 snaps in the 30-13 loss.
Smith went 15-of-19 for 149 yards and an interception.
The two-time Pro Bowler has completed 69.9 percent of his passes for 3,623 yards with 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions this season.
Seattle has long been an imposing place for opposing teams to play, but the Packers were able to make themselves at home on Sunday night.
While the crowd at Lumen Field may have featured more Seahawks fans than Packers fans overall, the Packers fans that did turn out made sure that their presence was felt. It did not feel like a hostile environment for the road team during their 30-13 win and head coach Matt LaFleur made sure to take a moment to highlight the Packers partisans when he spoke to reporters after the game.
“Big shout-out to our fans,” LaFleur said, via the team’s website. “I definitely was not expecting that many Packer fans in the stands. This is a tough place to play, it’s extremely loud, and I was shocked when our defense was on the field and I could hear our Packer fans. It definitely made a difference for us.”
The Packers gave their fans plenty to cheer about over the course of the evening and they should get a warm welcome back to Lambeau Field as they work to nail down a playoff spot in Week 16 against the Saints.
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith had to exit Sunday’s loss to the Packers midway through the third quarter with a knee injury.
After the game, head coach Mike Macdonald noted that the team isn’t yet sure of the extent of Smith’s injury.
“It was a knee for Geno. I can tell you this, this guy is probably the toughest player I’ve ever been around,” Macdonald said in his press conference. “It was severe enough for him not to come back in the game. We’ll do all our tests tomorrow and figure it out as we go. But right now, structurally, it looks like it’s OK. But we’ll get it imaged and all that stuff.”
Macdonald added that he doesn’t know if Smith will miss time.
“We’ve got to get the tests done,” Macdonald said. “I know he’ll do everything humanly possible to go play. Just don’t know right now.”
Smith had been in the locker room but came back out and at one point wanted to come back in the game, Macdonald said.
“He just couldn’t go,” Macdonald said.
Smith finished his outing on Sunday 15-of-19 for 149 yards with an interception.
Sam Howell came in to replace Smith and was 5-of-14 for 24 yards with an interception. He also took four sacks. Howell would presumably start against the Vikings next week if Smith isn’t able to play.
Green Bay’s win over Seattle clinched a playoff berth for Minnesota, but it also had some significant consequences for the playoff picture in the NFC West.
The Rams now lead the division with three weeks to go. At 8-6, Los Angeles has the same record as Seattle. But the Rams defeated the Seahawks in overtime earlier this season, giving them the current tiebreaker.
At this point, it appears to be a three-way race for the division between the Rams (8-6), Seahawks (8-6), and Cardinals (7-7). After losing on Thursday night, the 49ers (6-8) have only a slim shot at making the playoffs.
Los Angeles will play at the Jets before finishing the season at home against the Cardinals and Seahawks to end the year.
Seattle will play Minnesota at home in Week 16 before playing at Chicago and at L.A.
Arizona is at Carolina next Sunday, at Los Angeles in Week 17, and will finish at home against San Francisco.
