The Los Angeles Rams, after their blowout Week 12 win and the Philadelphia Eagles’ second-half collapse, secured the top seed in the NFC with a 9-2 record.
While they sit atop the NFC West and the conference overall, their odds of landing the number one seed are far from set in stone. Ali Bhanpuri of NFL.com has the Rams at a 54% chance of landing the one seed.
Only one other team is over a 10% chance for the one seed, and it’s the Eagles at 8-3. With the Rams the clear favorites for the one seed, and the Eagles as the next closest team, rooting for the Chicago Bears over the Eagles in the Week 13 Black Friday matchup is a no-brainer for Rams fans.
Why Rams fans should root for Bears over Eagles in Black Friday matchup
There are a few reasons to root for the Bears over the Eagles. While a surface-level reason might be due to the Eagles beating the Rams in the playoffs last season, there’s a much bigger reason for Rams fans to root for the Bears this week.
Due to the Eagles’ win over the Rams earlier in the year, on the last-second blocked field goal, the Eagles hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Rams.
If Los Angeles and Philadelphia finish with the same record, then the Eagles would have the better seed. Meaning, if the Rams can put some more distance between the two teams, then their odds of landing the number one seed would increase a lot.
While the Bears would then be right behind the Rams for the top seed, Los Angeles wouldn’t have too much to worry about, as Chicago faces the Detroit Lions once and the Green Bay Packers twice, among other tough teams, to finish out the year.
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A Bears win would be significantly more beneficial to the Rams in their pursuit of the number one seed. Bhanpuri has the Bears’ chances of the number one seed entering Week 13 at just three percent.
Seeing the Eagles lose in Week 13, and the Rams going on to beat the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, would have their odds to land the number one seed very high.
The Eagles are one of two teams to beat the Rams, with the other being the San Francisco 49ers. While San Francisco could make a run down the stretch, the Eagles are the main threat outside of the division to take the one seed from Los Angeles.
For Rams fans, the Week 13 matchup between the Eagles and Bears has a clear side to take. Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams getting a huge win would help the Rams immensely, as their chances to secure the number one seed would be far and away the best in the conference.
