Story byKenneth ArthurMon, December 29, 2025 at 5:20 AM UTC·2 min readWith the San Francisco 49ers beating the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football, the Los Angeles Rams have officially been eliminated from contention for winning the NFC West division. The Rams will either be the 5-seed or the 6-seed, and historically those kind of differences have meant little or nothing to head coach Sean McVay. Without anything else on the line, should McVay start resting starters like Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua as early as Monday night against the Atlanta Falcons?That’s a question that will linger on the Rams until Monday night, but the consequences of playing starters and one of them being injured is something that could haunt McVay if he doesn’t play the safe route.