[BuiltRamTough]

I get the positive vibes but it was Super Bowl or bust this season.

[PARAM]

I get the positive vibes but it was Super Bowl or bust this season.

Wasn't it that way every year after 2017? It has to be. It's the ONLY way to go into the season if you're any good (meaning, not the Lions, Jets or Giants). And by the way, is it over? Have we been knocked out of the tourney and I missed it?

[snackdaddy]

I get the positive vibes but it was Super Bowl or bust this season.

I wouldn't call it that. But if we get knocked out in the second round or sooner I think it would be fair to question how much better did the Stafford trade make us. The 12 wins were nice. It was pretty much what I wanted for us when the season started. But I also feel we need to get deeper in the playoffs for it to be a success.

[AvengerRam]

I agree that there are a lot of positives, as noted in the original post.

I feel as though many - quite understandably - are making too much of what happened on Sunday.

If the Rams had made a play or two at the end, and finished with a 24-17 win (or pulled it out in OT), how much different would things be right now?

We'd be the #2 seed and playing the Eagles or the Saints (not sure who owned that tiebreaker) at home. Instead, we're #4 and hosting the struggling Cardinals. That's not really a huge difference.

The big advantage would have been in the divisional round. With a win in WC weekend, we would have had another home game - probably against Tampa. Instead, we're likely to be @ Tampa or @ Green Bay.

In either scenario, we'd probably need to beat Green Bay in Lambeau eventually to make it to the big game.

So, yes... it was a setback, but it does not erase the 5 game winning streak that produced a 12 win season and a division title.

We're in the tournament. We're not the favorites, but we have a chance.

Now we'll see what the team does with that chance.

[aeneas1]

we're fans of one the top teams in the nfl.

we get to cheer our guys on in the postseason for the 4th time in 5 years.

only 1 fanbase has seen their team go to more postseasons in the last 5 years (chiefs).

only 2 fanbases have cheered more wins in the last 5 years (chiefs, saints).

the rams went all in this year, i'm told, i remember when they went all in in 2010 and made bradford highest paid rookie in nfl history - i'll take this version of all in thank you very much.

regardless of what happens from here on out, vegas will tag the rams as one of the top teams headed into 2022 in terms of odds to win their division, the nfc, making the postseason, reaching and winning the super bowl, and elo models and power ranking will have the rams listed high as well.

i'm not a super bowl or bust fan, a fan that thinks if their team doesn't win it all they might as well have finished 6-10, but i do have expectations, and my expectations this year include seeing the rams do better than last year, as in getting past the divisional round, at least.

[CanuckRightWinger]

Yeah...I'm not a "SB or Bust" type either.
It's a hyper-competitive League this NFL & moreover there are 32 uber-smart braintrusts scheming the demise of their rivals 24/7/365!!!

To me, if Los Ramos make the Playoffs in any given season....THEN WE WERE RELEVANT IN THAT SEASON.
Conversely, if your Team misses the Playoffs....then clearly, your Team is IRREVLEVANT.
Hence, for me, 1990-1998 was Wilderness Decade I, nine seasons of irrelevance....
and then 2005-2016 was Wilderness Decade II, 12 seasons of darkness & irrelevance.

It's nice to be in the hunt, in the Playoffs....again.
Thanks McSnead!!

[snackdaddy]

Yeah...I'm not a "SB or Bust" type either.
It's a hyper-competitive League this NFL & moreover there are 32 uber-smart braintrusts scheming the demise of their rivals 24/7/365!!!

To me, if Los Ramos make the Playoffs in any given season....THEN WE WERE RELEVANT IN THAT SEASON.
Conversely, if your Team misses the Playoffs....then clearly, your Team is IRREVLEVANT.
Hence, for me, 1990-1998 was Wilderness Decade I, nine seasons of irrelevance....
and then 2005-2016 was Wilderness Decade II, 12 seasons of darkness & irrelevance.

It's nice to be in the hunt, in the Playoffs....again.
Thanks McSnead!!

For those of us who aren't happy about the other day, maybe we should think back and remember what it was like. There was a time we were far from relevant. Even a laughingstock. The butt of jokes. That 10-38 stretch under Spagnuolo. The 15-65 five year record. The 7-9 bullshit.

Since McVay we've been among the league's elite teams. A lot of fans from other teams would love to be where we've been the last 5 years. Think about what Lions fans have gone through. So yeah, its quite different that we complain about a perennial playoff team. Maybe enjoy what we have now. This ride should continue at least a few more years.

[PARAM]

A few excellent responses. Perspective? In a game against a damn good team, where our O line faltered, our QB faltered, our defense faltered and our head coach faltered, we held a 7 point lead with under 2 minutes to go. We failed. But if those guys are thinking "we own them", I'd bet they also think "but for how long....that was a fucking battle". I said it before, when fans were expressing their fear of a postseason matchup with SF (even more than GB it seemed)......there would be no better way to advance. Kill 2 birds with one stone.