NFC

From Gary Klein: It was a modest goal. After being sidelined all of training camp, all Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford desired was for his sore back to heal in time for the season opener.

“Just make it to Week 1,” he joked.

Mission accomplished.

“We got there,” he said, “and then just held on for dear life.”

Stafford did more than that. Despite some “touch and go moments,” he did not miss a snap during perhaps the finest season of his 17-year career.

And on Sunday, Stafford made a final case for his first league most valuable player award.

He passed for four touchdowns in a 37-20 victory over the Arizona Cardinals that gave the Rams the No. 5 seed for the NFC playoffs and a wild-card matchup on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. PST against the No. 4 Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C.

The Seattle Seahawks are seeded No. 1 and will have a first round bye. The No. 2 Chicago Bears play host to the No. 7 Green Bay Packers, and the No. 3 Philadelphia Eagles play host to the No. 6 San Francisco 49ers.

Stafford, 37, will attempt to lead the Rams to their second Super Bowl title in his five seasons with the team.

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Rams summary

NFL standings

Chargers fall to Broncos

From Sam Farmer: The game was the understudies versus the underwhelmings.

The second-string Chargers against the … wait a second, the top-seeded Denver Broncos only generated 240 yards and failed to score an offensive touchdown?

Such is the AFC this season, filled with teams who flash one week and fizzle the next.

Sunday’s regular-season finale — which the Broncos won, 19-3 — was far more competitive than it should have been, especially considering the lopsided incentives.

Whereas the Chargers were playing for pride and only modestly consequential postseason seeding, Denver’s stakes were two miles high: a free pass to the second round, and home-field advantage until the Super Bowl.

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Chargers summary

NFL standings

NFL playoffs schedule

Sam Farmer breaks down all the wild-card game for you here.

All times Pacific
Wild-card round
NFC
Saturday
No. 5 Rams at No. 4 Carolina, 1:30 p.m., FOX, FOX Deportes
No. 7 Green Bay at No. 2 Chicago, 5 p.m., Prime Video

Sunday
No. 6 San Francisco at No. 3 Philadelphia, 1:30 p.m., FOX, FOX Deportes

AFC
Sunday
No. 6 Buffalo at No. 3 Jacksonville, 10 a.m., CBS, Paramount+
No. 7 Chargers at No. 2 New England, 5 p.m., NBC, Peacock, Universo

Monday, Jan. 12
No. 5 Houston at No. 4 Pittsburgh, 5 p.m., ESPN, ABC, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes; ManningCast-ESPN2

Divisional round
Jan. 17 and 18, TBA

Conference championships
Sunday, Jan. 25, TBA

Super Bowl
Sunday, Feb. 8, NBC, Time TBA

Lakers defeat Memphis again

From Broderick Turner: They met two days prior to Sunday night’s encounter at Crypto.com Arena, a two-game set between the Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies reminiscent of a playoff series.

The Lakers won the first game Friday night here and knew the Grizzlies were going to bring more intensity and a stronger effort even with star guard Ja Morant (right calf contusion) not playing.

And that was the case, the Lakers falling behind by 16 points in the second quarter, the Grizzlies ramping it up in a big way. But with Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Jake LaRavia leading the way, the Lakers pulled out a 120-114 win and improved to 12-0 in clutch games.

Continue reading here

Lakers box score

NBA standings

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1964 — Keith Lincoln of the San Diego Chargers rushes for 206 yards in 13 carries, catches seven passes for 123 yards, completes one pass for 20 and scores two touchdowns in a 51-10 rout of the Boston Patriots for the AFL title.

1983 — In his 42nd game, Edmonton’s Wayne Gretzky scores his 100th point of the season with an assist in the Oilers’ 8-3 triumph over the Winnipeg Jets.

1991 — Kevin Bradshaw of U.S. International scores 72 points to break Pete Maravich’s NCAA Division I single-game scoring record of 69, but Loyola Marymount sets an NCAA team scoring record in defeating the Gulls 186-140.

1993 — Reggie Jackson, who hit 563 homers and played on five championship teams in 21 seasons, is the only player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

1996 — Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula announces his retirement as winningest NFL Head Coach of all-time.

1997 — The second-year Carolina Panthers, behind John Kasay’s four field goals, beat the Dallas Cowboys 26-17 to advance to the NFC championship game.

1999 — Nolan Ryan, George Brett and Robin Yount are voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, the biggest class of first-time candidates since Babe Ruth and four others were chosen in the original election of 1936.

2009 — Pittsburgh makes it to the top of The Associated Press’ men’s college basketball poll for the first time. The Panthers are one of a record nine Big East teams in the poll. The 16-team league had a record eight schools ranked for three weeks earlier in the season.

2013 — Aaron Rodgers connects with an NFL playoff-record 10 receivers as he throws for 274 yards in his first playoff victory at home, leading Green Bay to a 24-10 victory over Minnesota.

2013 — Arian Foster rushes for 140 yards and a touchdown in Houston’s 19-13 win over Cincinnati, and becomes the first NFL player to have 100-yard games in each of his first three playoff games.

2017 — The Columbus Blue Jackets lose 5-0 to the Washington Capitals ending their winning streak at 16 games, one shy of the NHL record. Columbus lose for the first time since Nov. 26, ending a captivating run that fell short of the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins’ record of 17 consecutive wins.

2021 — 86th Heisman Trophy Award: DeVonta Smith, Alabama (WR).

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

SANTA CLARA — Zach Charbonnet scored on a 27-yard run in the first quarter and Seattle shut down the high-powered San Francisco offense in a 13-3 victory over the 49ers on Saturday night that secured the No. 1 seed for the Seahawks in the NFC playoffs.

Seattle (14-3) won its first division title since 2020 and is two home wins away from returning to Levi’s Stadium for the Super Bowl next month after besting San Francisco (12-5) in just the fourth season-ending game ever where the winner was guaranteed the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.

The loss sends the 49ers on the road for the wild-card round next weekend against an opponent that will be determined after Sunday’s games.

Coach Mike Macdonald’s defensive unit flummoxed a 49ers offense that had been the NFL’s most potent since Brock Purdy returned from an injury in Week 11.

The Seahawks didn’t allow a first down in the opening quarter, generated three sacks and made the biggest defensive play early in the fourth quarter when Drake Thomas got an interception at the Seattle three on a pass that went off the hands of Christian McCaffrey.

Sam Darnold did just enough for the Seahawks as he won a Week 18 showdown this season after falling flat a year ago for Minnesota against Detroit in a loss that cost the Vikings a chance at the No. 1 seed. Darnold went 20 of 26 for 198 yards and didn’t turn the ball over once as Seattle relied heavily on the running game.

Kenneth Walker III ran for 97 yards, Charbonnet had the long touchdown and the Seahawks finished with 180 yards on the ground, their second most in a game this season.

Purdy went 19 of 27 for 127 yards and the interception and McCaffrey was held to 23 yards in eight carries as the 49ers had their lowest-scoring game since losing 23-3 to Carolina in coach Kyle Shanahan’s debut in 2017.

The 173 yards gained by the 49ers were their fewest in any regular-season game under Shanahan.

The Seahawks controlled the first half, outgaining the 49ers by 127 yards and allowing only three first downs, but led only 10-3 at the break after two long drives ended with no punts.

Seattle got stopped on fourth and goal from the four on the on the opening drive but managed to force a three-and-out that set up a short field and Charbonnet’s touchdown run.

Jason Myers also missed a 47-yard field goal attempt. He went two of four on the night, missing from 26 yards late in the fourth quarter.

ATLANTA — The Rams already knew they will be on the road for the playoffs, a difficult assignment for any team.

It’s trending toward becoming one especially tough for the Rams, who only a few weeks ago appeared to be the class of the NFC, if not the NFL.

Not anymore.

On Monday night, the Rams for much of their game against the Atlanta Falcons, looked like a team on the road to nowhere. Or one more interested in limping through the end of the regular season before turning it on for the playoffs.

They overcame a 21-point deficit to tie the score, but Zane Gonzalez’s 51-yard field goal with 21 seconds left sent the Rams to a 27-24 defeat at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

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Gary Klein breaks down what went wrong for the Rams in their 27-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night.

It was the Rams’ second loss in a row, both coming on the road.

“Here we are again in a disappointing situation,” coach Sean McVay said.

The loss dropped the Rams to 11-5 going into Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium.

On Saturday, the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers will play for the NFC West title and the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Rams are seeded No. 6. If the Seahawks defeat the 49ers, and the Rams beat the Cardinals, the Rams could move up to No. 5.

McVay said starters would play against the Cardinals rather than rest for the playoffs.

“They were going to play anyways,” McVay said. “We need to play better football.”

Way better.

Defensive lineman Kobie Turner said McVay told the team that if they play in the wild-card round like they did on Monday night, they were going to be sitting on their couches watching the rest of the postseason.

“It’s the reality of the situation,” Turner said, adding, “I back him. … That’s not where we want to be.”

The Rams have no choice about where they will begin their postseason as they attempt to earn a Super Bowl berth for the third time in McVay’s nine seasons.

They will not be at SoFi Stadium, where they have lost only once this season. The Rams’ other losses — to Philadelphia, Carolina, Seattle and Atlanta — came on the road.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford tries to avoid diving Atlanta Falcons linebacker Khalid Kareem during the second half of the Rams’ 27-24 loss Monday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

(Brynn Anderson / Associated Press)

Monday’s defeat by the Falcons (7-9), coming on the heels of their 38-37 overtime loss in Seattle on Dec. 18, gave the Rams consecutive road games defeats for the first time since the start of the 2024 season, when they lost their opener in overtime at Detroit and then got routed at Arizona.

Players could not explain Monday night’s first-half malaise.

“It’s a little embarrassing because we preach about the things we want to get done, and we know how good we can be,” offensive lineman Steve Avila said. “And today was probably the worst we’ve ever shown.”

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford moved past Ben Roethlisberger into sixth place on the NFL’s all-time passing yards list, but there was not much to be happy about on a night that had set up as a possible MVP-clinching stage.

Stafford completed 22 of 38 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns but had three passes intercepted, including one that was returned for a touchdown.

“I obviously didn’t play well enough,” he said. “That’s what it is.”

Rams coach Sean McVay speaks with quarterback Matthew Stafford in the fourth quarter Monday against the Falcons.

(Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

The first half was a nightmare for Stafford, who went into the game with a league-leading 40 touchdown passes and only five interceptions.

The Falcons built a 21-0 halftime lead on Bijan Robinson’s touchdown catch, Jessie Bates III’s interception return for a touchdown and Robinson’s 93-yard touchdown run, which came one play after Xavier Watts got the first of his two interceptions.

Robinson finished with 195 yards rushing and also caught a touchdown pass.

If there was a bright spot for the Rams, it was special teams. Just over a week after McVay elevated Ben Kotwica to replace fired special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn, Jared Verse blocked a field-goal attempt and returned it 76 yards for a touchdown that cut the Falcons’ lead to 24-17 with less than a minute left in the third quarter.

The Rams’ chances for a comeback appeared to end when Watts intercepted another pass with just more than nine minutes left.

But Stafford’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Puka Nacua tied the score with 2:46 left.

Gonzalez’s field goal put the Falcons ahead by three.

Stafford got the ball one last time, but he missed a wide-open Xavier Smith on a route, and Tutu Atwell and Nacua could not come up with deep passes. With five seconds left, Stafford’s fourth-down pass to Nacua fell incomplete.

So instead of resting for the playoffs, starters will try to get the Rams back on track in the season finale.

“We don’t need rest right now,” Turner said. “We need momentum.”

The Rams have lost four games this season, three resulting in part from special teams breakdowns.

In the aftermath of their defeat by the Seattle Seahawks, coach Sean McVay made a significant move.

Chase Blackburn, the Rams’ special teams coordinator for the last three seasons, has been fired, a team official said Saturday.

Assistant Ben Kotwica remains on the staff.

Earlier this month, Blackburn said, “The job of a special teams coach is to be able to adapt and overcome on all things.”

That proved a challenge for a team that features a high-powered offense, and an at-times dominating defense.

On Thursday night in Seattle, the Rams led by 16 points in the fourth quarter when they allowed Rashid Shaheed to return a punt 58 yards for a touchdown. The play sparked the Seahawks’ comeback that sent the Rams to a 38-37 overtime defeat.

The loss dropped the Rams’ record to 11-4, and knocked them out of the No. 1 seed in the NFC and first place in the NFC West.

The breakdown was the latest in a series of special teams issues that have plagued the Rams.

In September at Philadelphia, the Eagles blocked two field-goal attempts by Joshua Karty, returning the second for a winning touchdown on the final play of regulation.

Two weeks later, in a 26-23 overtime defeat by the San Francisco 49ers, Karty missed a long field-goal attempt and had an extra-point attempt blocked. Karty’s kickoff in overtime did not reach the landing zone, giving the 49ers the ball at the 40-yard line.

Before their Week 10 game against the 49ers, the Rams signed kicker Harrison Mevis to replace Karty and signed veteran snapper Jake McQuaide to replace Alex Ward.

The kicking game solidified. Mevis made all eight of his field-goal attempts, including three against the Seahawks, before he missed a 48-yard attempt with just over two minutes left in regulation.

The Rams, who clinched a playoff spot, play the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 29 in Atlanta and then conclude the regular season at home against the Arizona Cardinals.