playoff

ARLINGTON, Texas — The NFL regular season is turning down the stretch and the playoff picture is coming into focus, and that means not just the teams but the league’s scheduling crew is hard at work.

The Chargers, who play at Dallas on Sunday, can secure a postseason berth with a victory and some help from a team or two. Coupled with a win over the Cowboys, the Chargers need Las Vegas to win at Houston (unlikely) or San Francisco to win at Indianapolis (more likely) so they can rest easy knowing they’re at least in the playoffs for the second consecutive season under Jim Harbaugh.

Although the Rams have already qualified for the playoffs, they need to regain their balance after a spirit-snapping loss at Seattle on Thursday that likely cost them a chance at the NFC’s No. 1 seed.

Here’s a look at the upcoming schedule for the end of this season and beginning of next, along with decisions that need to be made:

— Why did the league schedule Houston at the Chargers for Saturday of Week 17?

The game was always a candidate for that 1:30 p.m. slot on NFL Network, and Seattle at Carolina was also under consideration.

The league liked Texans-Chargers on Saturday because both of those clubs likely will be playing in January — maybe against each other again — and if that game were moved to Sunday afternoon, it would be going head-to-head against Fox’s national game, Philadelphia at Buffalo, a potential Super Bowl preview.

So the NFL wanted to do the Texans and Chargers a solid and give them the national stage to themselves.

— Rams at Atlanta in Week 17 isn’t a fantastic Monday night game for Week 17, especially with the Falcons currently at 5-9. But with all the games spread throughout the week of Christmas, there weren’t a lot of great replacement options.

The league didn’t move Texans-Chargers into that slot for good reason. Because whoever plays in that “Monday Night Football” slot — it’s staying Rams-Falcons — won’t be a candidate for a Saturday game in the final weekend.

So by moving Texans-Chargers to Saturday, both those teams are in play for the two Saturday spots in Week 18. The Chargers finish at Denver, and the Texans play host to Indianapolis. Either or both of those games could wind up on ESPN for those finishing Saturday games.

— The NFL originally slated Cincinnati at Miami for this week’s Sunday night game but last week decided to move New England at Baltimore into that time slot. That’s notable because it’s the first flex of the season, which is an unusually low number. Typically, there have been three or four flexes to this point.

Why only one? There are multiple reasons. First, the league’s scheduling crew had a pretty clear crystal ball in May, a good idea for which teams would still be in the mix. Credit to those folks.

But the bar for flexing games is also a little higher than it used to be. The NFL is cautious about inconveniencing 75,000 fans for a relatively small bump in viewership. What’s more, with all the new windows and partners — Netflix, Amazon Prime, Peacock, Paramount+ — there are fewer games to go around. Even if the league wanted to flex, there are fewer options. The traditional Sunday inventory is a lot thinner than it used to be.

— It’s worth noting that the league’s philosophy on moving games around is it flexes out of a game that’s falling apart, it doesn’t flex into a better game because the network or streaming service doesn’t happen to like the game it has.

Cincinnati-Miami was a no-brainer flex candidate back in October when both teams were reeling. But then Joe Burrow came back for the Bengals, and the Dolphins started winning, and it got interesting for a while. But then Cincinnati got shut out last week by Baltimore, and Miami just benched its quarterback. Flex was back on.

So what to flex into? The thought was, yes, the NFL can move Patriots-Ravens into that Sunday window for NBC, and at least it can leave behind Kansas City-Tennessee for CBS. Everybody figured the Chiefs would be fighting for their postseason lives. That wasn’t the case. Kansas City was eliminated last week and lost Patrick Mahomes to a season-ending knee injury. Chiefs-Titans isn’t nearly as interesting as anticipated.

It could have been an ugly Sunday for CBS, but the network wound up with Pittsburgh-Detroit for its national game. That very easily could have been the far-less-tantalizing Buffalo at Cleveland.

— We’re heading into a postseason with no Kansas City, no Dallas, maybe no Baltimore or Pittsburgh — one of them is going to miss out — and with the rise of Chicago, possibly no Green Bay or Detroit.

A lot of those traditional anchor teams could be watching from their couches.

That means the NFL will have to make some new decisions about who to prioritize in postseason scheduling, perhaps looking with fresh eyes at clubs such as Seattle, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Jacksonville and others. Who are the ones with the most national appeal?

And that rolls into next season. How does the league dole out those big national windows. With Kansas City missing the playoffs, and Mahomes recovering from a major knee injury, do the Chiefs recede into the background after a decade of division titles and deep playoff runs?

Have the Bears broken through? They’re 10-4. At 12-2, Denver looks to be back and set up to keep it going. Heading into Thursday night’s game, the Rams were as hot as any team in the league, and the Chargers could finally get Justin Herbert that inaugural playoff victory.

The Steelers have won two in a row, and could wind up making a postseason run. If so, what does Aaron Rodgers do next season, and how will the club move forward?

The NFL leaned heavily into Washington after one outstanding season, giving them eight nationally televised games this season. That bet didn’t pay off; the Commanders are 4-10.

It’s the game behind the games, and those decisions are taking shape.

A look at The Times’ top 25 boys’ basketball rankings for the Southland after Week 4.

Rk. School (Rec.); Comment; ranking last week

1. SIERRA CANYON (7-1): Face Crean Lutheran on Saturday; 1

2. SANTA MARGARITA (11-1): Headed to Las Vegas for Tarkanian Classic; 2

3. ST. JOHN BOSCO (8-0): Champions of their own tournament behind Christian Collins; 3

4. HARVARD-WESTLAKE (9-1): Next up is a trip to Hawaii; 4

5. REDONDO UNION (6-2): Went 1-1 on East Coast trip; 5

6. SAN GABRIEL ACADEMY (1-3): Another team headed to Las Vegas; 6

7. SHERMAN OAKS NOTRE DAME (6-2): Face Riviera Prep from Miami on Friday; 7

8. CREAN LUTHERAN (9-2): Hunter Caplan has been making major contributions; 8

9. CORONA CENTENNIAL (10-1): Isaiah Rogers is MVP of San Juan Hills tourney;11

10 VILLAGE CHRISTIAN (7-3): Freshman Will Conroy leading team in scoring; 9

11. ETIWANDA (13-0): North Orange County tournament champions; 15

12. CORONA DEL MAR (11-0): 11 straight wins to start season is impressive; 16

13. CRESPI (6-4): Waiting for cavalry to arrive on Dec. 26 ; 10

14. DAMIEN (12-2): Went 2-1 on trip to Idaho; 14

15. FAIRMONT PREP (6-4): Suffering close losses to good teams; 12

16. JSERRA (6-4): Jaden Bailes continues to lead Lions; 13

17. LA MIRADA (4-4): Strong schedule will pay off; 18

18. CHAMINADE (11-0): Close win over El Camino Real keeps Eagles unbeaten; 19

19. ARCADIA (7-1): Good win over Pasadena in Pacific League opener; 20

20. PASADENA (3-2): Bulldogs waiting for players to become eligible; 21

21. CROSSROADS (7-1): Winning without Evan Willis (flu); 22

22. EASTVALE ROOSEVELT (5-3): Face Hesperia on Tuesday 23

23. BRENTWOOD (10-0): Headed to Hawaii; 24

24. RANCHO VERDE (9-2): Semaj Carter has been on scoring run; NR

25. ROLLING HILLS PREP (10-1): Suffered first loss to Los Alamitos; 17

The Rams are going to the playoffs.

The only questions now: Can they hold onto the No. 1 seed in the NFC and have home-field advantage for the entire postseason. And will receiver Davante Adams be fit for the stretch run?

The Rams clinched a playoff spot on Sunday with a 41-34 victory over the Detroit Lions before 74,701 at SoFi Stadium in a game that featured Adams’ fourth-quarter departure because of a left hamstring injury.

Matthew Stafford outdueled Jared Goff, Puka Nacua continued his torrid receiving pace and the Rams defense shut down the Lions in the second half as the Rams improved their record to 11-3 and ensured their seventh playoff appearance under ninth-year coach Sean McVay.

It was a huge victory for a Rams team that will be tested again Thursday night when they play the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle.

The Seahawks (11-3) defeated Philip Rivers and the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in Seattle, setting up the Thursday night showdown. The Rams currently hold the tie-breaker over the Seahawks because of their Nov. 16 victory over the Seahawks at SoFi Stadium.

Can they capture home field throughout the playoffs for the first time?

They advanced to the Super Bowl in the 2018 and the 2021 seasons without the benefit of playing every playoff game at home.

The Rams finish the regular season with games against the Seahawks, a road trip to Atlanta and a home game against the Arizona Cardinals.

As expected, the victory over the Lions (8-6) did not come easy.

The Rams overcame an early interception and 10-point deficit late in the second quarter.

Adams, who has been nursing a hamstring issue, left the field for the locker room and did not return to the game after appearing to suffer an injury early in the fourth quarter.

McVay said Adams’ injury “didn’t look good” and wasn’t sure if Adams would be able to play against the Seahawks.

Stafford came alive in the second half, leading three consecutive scoring drives in the third quarter to give the Rams a 34-24 lead.

Stafford kept alive his drive for the NFL most valuable player award by completing 24 of 38 for 368 yards and two touchdowns, with an interception.

Nacua, coming off a performance against the Arizona Cardinals that earned him NFC offensive player of the week honors, caught nine passes for 181 yards. Adams caught four passes for 71 yards.

Tight end Colby Parkinson caught two touchdown passes, Kyren Williams rushed for two touchdowns and Blake Corum also scored on the ground.

Defensive lineman Kobie Turner had a key sack for a defense that gave up three touchdown passes and several big plays in the first half, but neutralized Goff for most of the second.

Goff and receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown started fast and helped the Lions take a 24-17 lead.

Stafford had a hand in that, throwing a ball into the waiting arms of Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, who returned the interception 58 yards. On the next play, Goff found St. Brown for a touchdown.

Williams’ two short touchdown runs gave the Rams the lead midway through the second quarter. But Goff connected with St. Brown for a short touchdown and then hit Jameson Williams with a 31-yard scoring pass to put the Lions ahead, 24-14.

The Rams cut the deficit to seven points when Harrison Mevis closed the first half with a field goal.

The Rams opened the second half with another field goal to cut the Lions’ lead to four points.

The defense then forced the Lions to go three and out, forcing them to punt for the first time.

Stafford put the Rams ahead with a 26-yard touchdown pass to tight end Colby Parkinson to give the Rams a 27-24 lead.

Turner’s sack of Goff helped set up another punt, and it took Stafford only 52 seconds to engineer another touchdown. He connected with Nacua for a 39-yard gain, and Blake Corum extended the lead with an 11-yard touchdown run.

The Lions kicked a field goal midway through the fourth quarter to trim the Rams’ lead to seven points, but Stafford’s second touchdown pass to Parkinson gave the Rams a 14-point lead with just under five minutes left.

David Montgomery’s short touchdown run late in the fourth quarter cut the lead back to seven.

Goff completed 25 of 41 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns. St. Brown caught 13 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — What they started in balmy Brazil, the Chargers finished on a bitter cold day at Arrowhead Stadium.

They completed a season sweep of Kansas City with a 16-13 victory, solidifying their own playoff chances while driving a stake through the postseason hopes of their AFC West rival.

The Chiefs, who hadn’t missed the playoffs since 2014, officially were eliminated from playoff contention with the loss.

The come-from-behind victory gave the Chargers their 10th win with three games to go and kept alive their designs on winning a division currently led by the Denver Broncos.

Cameron Dicker kicked two of his three field goals after halftime to bring back the Chargers, who were facing a 13-3 deficit in the second quarter before scoring 13 unanswered points.

Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes sustained an apparent leg injury late in the game and had to be helped to the locker room. He was replaced by Gardner Minshew, who was intercepted by Derwin James Jr. to end the game.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes grabs his left leg after sustaining an injury in the fourth quarter.

(Reed Hoffmann / Associated Press)

With a temperature of 15 degrees at kickoff, this was the third-coldest game in Chargers history, although their defense looked at home in the frigid weather. Tuli Tuipulotu and Odafe Oweh each collected two sacks of Mahomes, and linebacker Daiyan Henley had a pivotal fourth-quarter interception of the Chiefs quarterback near the goal line.

Chargers safety Tony Jefferson was ejected in the fourth quarter after a helmet-to-helmet hit on Tyquan Thornton that knocked the Chiefs receiver out of the game. Earlier in the second half, Jefferson flattened Rashee Rice with another huge hit.

It marked just the second time in 13 years the Chargers beat the Chiefs (6-8) twice in the same season.

Step into the Dodgers’ team store, turn to the right, and you’ll be staring at Shohei Ohtani.

Not in person, of course. But amid all the jerseys and caps and T-shirts, there is a commercial playing on a loop, with Ohtani waving his fingers through his hair and winking as he displays the product he is endorsing: the top-selling skin serum in Japan.

“Take care of your skin,” the narrator says. “Live life to the fullest.”

Life is good at Dodger Stadium. In the store at the top of the park, you can buy a bottle of skin serum that retails for $118, or World Series championship gear including T-shirts and caps for $54 and up, hoodies for $110 and up, and cool jackets for as much as $382.

If you’re a fan of any team besides the Dodgers, you might despise all the money they spend on players. On Friday after the Dodgers introduced their latest All-Star, closer Edwin Díaz, I asked general manager Brandon Gomes if they really could buy whatever player they wanted.

“Our ownership group has been incredibly supportive, so if we feel like it’s something that meaningfully impacts our World Series chances, we’ve had that support all the time,” he said. “We’re fortunate to be in that position.”

The Dodgers’ owners spend money to make money, and they wisely hired Andrew Friedman a decade ago to tell them where to spend their money. Sounds simple, but some owners do not spend money wisely, and some do not spend money, period.

And sometimes you do both, and it just does not work out.

In the last decade the Dodgers have made the playoffs every year. Take a guess: What other Los Angeles pro team has made the playoffs the most during the last decade?

It’s the Clippers — eight playoff appearances, no championships and now a disaster.

The Dodgers have won three championships over the last decade. You might not remember that the Dodgers’ owners were ridiculed within the industry for spending $2 billion to buy the team in 2012.

At the time I asked co-owner Todd Boehly how he would define successful ownership of the Dodgers.

“You’re not really asking me that, are you?” he said then. “The more World Series we win, the more valuable a franchise it is, right?”

The Dodgers were valued at $8 billion last year by Sportico.

They signed Díaz for three years and $69 million. I asked Gomes what winter signing he recalled as the biggest during the five years he pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, left, and Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes welcome star closer Edwin Díaz during his introductory news conference Friday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

In 2014, he said, the Rays signed closer Grant Balfour: two years and $12 million — after the Baltimore Orioles withdrew a two-year, $15-million deal following a physical examination.

It’s not just the Rays, or even the small markets. The New York Mets’ spending rivaled the Dodgers last season, but the Mets missed the playoffs and lost free agents Díaz, Pete Alonso and Tyler Rogers this week alone. The New York Yankees sound oddly supportive of a salary cap. The Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs talk like big-market teams but do not spend like them.

At the Angels’ team store Friday morning, five customers looked around the team store, where all jerseys sold for 50% off. The attraction at the store Saturday: photos with Santa.

The Angels have not made a postseason appearance since 2014, and their acquisitions so far this offseason: a formerly touted infield prospect once traded for Chris Sale, a talented young pitcher who missed this past season because of injury and another pitcher who finished third in Cy Young voting in 2022 but has not pitched in the majors in more than 18 months. They’ll likely pay those three players less than $4 million combined.

In March, Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken invited Angels owner Arte Moreno to join her in “an open and honest conversation about the future of baseball in Anaheim.”

This week when the future of the Angel Stadium site came up during an Anaheim City Council meeting, Aitken mused about asking city residents “how much of a priority is it to have the land tied up with a baseball franchise,” Voice of OC reported. (The Angels’ stadium lease extends through 2032, and the Angels have the right to extend it through 2038.)

So consider this a timely holiday reminder for Dodgers fans to give thanks for this ownership group, for what the Dodgers are doing now is exceptional and extremely rare.

It would be nice if the Dodgers made more of a commitment to family affordability — and also if the Dodgers did not charge $102.25 for “an iconic photo op with the 2024 and 2025 World Series trophies” — but their attendance nonetheless hit 4 million for the first time.

This is a Dodger town, and the team is the toast of the town. The Dodgers are the biggest winner in American pro sports right now.

The owners are winners too. On Thursday, Boehly’s company staged its holiday party, and the musicians included Eddie Vedder, Bruno Mars, Anthony Kiedis, Brandi Carlile and Slash. Live life to the fullest, indeed.