The Rams left SoFi Stadium on Sunday not knowing who they will play in an NFC wild-card game.
The Rams ensured their waiting game by losing to the Seattle Seahawks, 30-25, in front of 72,610.
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith passed for four touchdowns as the Rams finished the season with their third defeat in the final 12 games and dropped from the No. 3 to No. 4 seed in the NFC.
The Rams will play the loser of Sunday night’s game between the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings. The winner of that game would claim the No. 1 seed and a bye. The loser would be No. 5 and play the Rams at SoFi Stadium.
The Rams have played both this season.
Rams tight end Tyler Higbee runs past Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon for a six-yard touchdown catch.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
The Rams, who lost to the Lions, 24-23, in an NFC wild-card game last season at Detroit, also lost to them, 26-20 in overtime, in the season opener at Detroit.
On Oct. 24 The Rams defeated the Vikings 30-20 at SoFi Stadium
The Rams could have clinched the No. 3 seed before kickoff had the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, but the Buccaneers’ victory put the pressure on the Rams.
With the playoff spot already in hand, coach Sean McVay rested quarterback Matthew Stafford, receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, running back Kyren Williams and offensive linemen Alaric Jackson and Kevin Dotson.
Rams quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, starting a game for the first time since October 2023, completed 27 of 41 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns, with an interception.
The Seahawks had a 17-13 at halftime lead after Smith passed for two touchdowns.
Rams kicker Joshua Karty, who closed out the first half with a career-best 58-yard field goal, kicked a 57-yard field goal early in the third quarter to pull the Rams within a point.
Smith’s touchdown pass to tight end AJ Barner increased the lead to eight points, but Garoppolo’s short touchdown pass to Tyler Johnson early in the fourth quarter cut the lead to two. A two-point conversion pass was incomplete.
The Rams took the lead on Karty’s 38-yard field goal. Receiver Jordan Whittington set up the field goal with a 50-yard catch and run after Nehemiah Pritchett fell down.
The Seahawks regained the lead on Noah Fant’s acrobatic touchdown catch with 3:19 left. A two-point conversion pass fell incomplete..
The Rams drove to the Seahawks’ nine-yard line in the final minute, but Garoppolo’s fourth-down pass to Whittington fell incomplete.