The gauntlet that is the NFL regular season is over, and the seven teams in each conference that managed to separate themselves over that 17-game marathon are the only ones who remain standing.

The playoffs are set to begin this weekend as the Los Angeles Rams and 13 other teams battle for the Lombardi Trophy as the next Super Bowl champions. It’s impressive that the Rams even got into the postseason after starting the year 1-4,

The Los Angeles Rams have won the NFC West crown, and the final standings have remained largely unchanged from Week 17 to Week 18. That, of course, means the San Francisco 49ers are in last place. They will have the 11th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and a more extended offseason than they’ve had the last couple of years.

Many NFL teams hope to land the next Sean McVay when they seek a new head coach. McVay became the youngest coach since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 when the Los Angeles Rams hired him in 2017 at age 30. He’s led them to one Super Bowl title in two appearances, four NFC West championships, six playoff berths and seven winning seasons in eight years.

As every team does this time of year, the Los Angeles Rams have their work cut out for them in the first round of the playoffs. They’re welcoming the 14-3 Minnesota Vikings to SoFi Stadium, facing the first 14-win wild-card team in NFL history.

The ever present reality that excuses mean nothing in the NFL is as alive as it has ever been and in an era where coaches are getting fired left and right, what Sean McVay did thi