It's been a rough weekend for ardent fans of the Los Angeles Rams as their team missed the playoffs this season. The fact that they lost in a close battle against the San Francisco 49ers away from home would be a slight consolation to fans.
However, they join an exclusive club that they would rather not have joined at all. They become the third club in the decade that would be missing out of the playoffs after becoming the NFC champions the previous year.
The two other teams that they join in this embarrassing list are the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers. While this is an uncommon occurrence, it still shows that it's not that rare for a team that performed well the previous year to fall off that hard.
The 2012 Giants actually had a decent season as they finished the season with a 9-7 record after winning the Super Bowl the previous season. However, their performance wasn't enough to get them to the playoffs.
The 2016 Panthers were the team that fell off hard. After making Super Bowl 50, they fell off and had a losing 6-10 record. They have struggled to make it back to the Super Bowl since then.
The Rams will also likely finish with a 9-7 record as they'll face the Arizona Cardinals for their final game of the season.
Head coach Sean McVay had this to say, per NFL.com's Michael Silver:
“I'm proud of the way we battled and fought, but I'm sick that we didn't come out with the result, and I'm sick that we won't be in the postseason,” McVay told me, shaking his head twice for emphasis. “Our season will end next week, and it's a sickening feeling — and one that will drive me… Every. Single. Freaking. Day… until next season arrives, and we finally get to come out and take another swing.”
At the very least, fans would have a chance to finish the season on a muted high if the team shows up against the Cardinals in Week 16.
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