
Week 17 in the NFL is a weird mix of teams with nothing to play for but pride, others with plenty on the line and a few who have a little bit to play for but are more interested in answering the question of whether it's more important to keep momentum going into the postseason or more important to give key players a week of rest.
In the NFC, there are some obvious teams who fall into these categories.
The Eagles are locked into the No. 1 seed and can decide whether to rest players or try to keep them focused knowing that they can rest the following week since they've earned a bye.
The Vikings are still working to clinch the No. 2 seed, and the easiest way to do that is to beat the Bears on Sunday. The Saints can clinch their division with a win over Tampa, while Carolina can steal the division instead with a win over Atlanta. The Falcons, too, can clinch a wild card spot with a win.
So the Vikings, Saints and Panthers have plenty to play for, while at least the Vikings and Saints opponents, the Bears and Tampa, have nothing but pride at stake.
In the weird middle, though, are the Rams. They've already clinched their division and sit at 11-4. With a win, they can lock up the No. 3 seed, but they can do no better than that. With a loss, they would fall no further than the No. 4 seed. In both cases, they'd have a home playoff game to start the postseason.
With nothing more than seeding at stake, it sounds as though the Rams are giving heavy consideration to resting a bunch of starters for Sunday's finale against the 49ers.
"Being locked into that third or fourth seed — every single game is important — but I think it will provide an opportunity for us to potentially get some guys healthier, rest them, give some other guys a chance to step up," head coach Sean McVay said Tuesday.