Nov 23, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles shakes hands with Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay after the game at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Why Rams Aren't Overtly Concerned With NFC's Top Seed

Originally posted on Los Angeles Rams on SI
By Brock Vierra | Last updated Dec 4, 2025 10:00 AM ET

WOODLAND HILLS, Ca. The Los Angeles Rams are in the middle of a multi-team race towards the number one seed in the NFC. Achieving the conference's top rank means home-field advantage and a BYE in the Wild Card Round for the postseason.

McVay on the Number One Seed

While the Rams are in the mix, the prospect doesn't linger on head coach Sean McVay's mind at all. For McVay, that's a bridge he'll cross once his team gets there, but the first thing on his mind is the matters of the day, followed by the goal of the week.

“I don't track it in the least bit," stated McVay. "It's not important to me at all. What's important to me is us being totally and completely present today. We have no guarantee to play past 17 games. The only thing that I know and that I fully believe is that our ability to be totally and completely present have a great Wednesday and put ourselves in a position to earn the right to feel confident to be able to go forward against the Cardinals."

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"There were a lot of good things that we can learn from that game, whether we win or lose. When you come up short, I think it's a great opportunity for us to be what we want to be about and that is the furthest thing… Our goal is to try to prepare to get the result we want week in and week out. Those other things take care of themselves. That is not in the least bit of my concern. I want us to get back to playing the better quality football that we've been accustomed to seeing that we didn't do the other day.”

The Rams Have Never Held the Number One Seed in the McVay Era

In 2023 and 2024, the Rams' season came to an end via a road playoff loss. In fact, McVay has struggled to win on the road against NFC North and East opponents. He also has only two playoff wins in outdoor environments.

One was against the Seahawks in Seattle. The Seahawks did not permit fans to attend the game due to the COVID-19 guidelines of the time. The other was against Tampa Bay, a warm climate.

McVay was asked about the significance of securing such an advantage.

“The significance is that it's an awesome opportunity to be able to even earn the right to play extra football," stated McVay. "I wouldn't say because we were in those environments is why we lost. I was really pleased with how we handled both of those."

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

"We just came up short and we played two excellent football teams in the Lions and the Eagles where it just didn't go down for us. Would we love to be able to be at home? Yeah. But again, that is so far from my thinking and the fact that we lost on the road in the playoffs the last two years, I don't think being on the road had anything to do with us coming up short in those games.”

This article first appeared on Los Angeles Rams on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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