Matthew Stafford, Rams Starters Will Play vs. Cardinals Amid NFL Playoff Race, per HC

The Los Angeles Rams are locked into an NFC wild-card spot heading into their Week 18 game against the Arizona Cardinals, but they will still play quarterback Matthew Stafford and the rest of their starters.

"We need to play," head coach Sean McVay told reporters following Monday's 27-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

While a division title and missing the playoffs entirely are both out of play, the Rams can still be either the No. 5 or 6 seed in the postseason picture. And that could be a bigger difference than it seems at first glance.

The Philadelphia Eagles are the No. 3 seed in the current NFC standings, while the No. 4 seed will go to either the 8-8 Carolina Panthers or 7-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers depending on how Week 18 unfolds. 

That means the No. 6 seed will have either a road matchup against the reigning Super Bowl champions in Philadelphia or the 11-5 Chicago Bears in the cold of the Windy City, while the No. 5 seed will face a division champion who has battled just to be around .500 all season.

In order to get the No. 5 seed, Los Angeles will need to defeat the Cardinals and hope the Seattle Seahawks defeat the San Francisco 49ers. Otherwise, it will be the No. 6 seed and face a more difficult matchup on paper.

Regardless of who they play in the postseason, the Rams will need to be better than they were Monday.

Stafford threw three interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown by Jessie Bates III, and the defense allowed 195 yards and a touchdown on the ground to Bijan Robinson. Were it not for a blocked field goal they ran back for a touchdown, Monday might have gotten ugly for the visitors.

It will be up to the starters to turn things around in Week 18 and create some momentum ahead of the playoffs.