The Los Angeles Rams host the Detroit Lions in Week 15 with a simple clinching scenario: win, and they’re in the playoffs That outcome would also keep them atop both the NFC and the NFC West, with the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers still chasing.
That’s why at least some 49ers voices are saying the quiet part out loud: they want the Lions to beat the Rams.
49ers Have a Clear Lions-over-Rams Rooting Interest
Heading into Week 15, the Rams sit at 10-3, tied with the Seahawks but holding the division lead and the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The 49ers are right behind them at 9-4, currently in the six-seed range but with the best NFC conference record among the contenders.
NFL.com’s playoff probability model has the Rams at a 95% chance to make the postseason and a 45% shot at the No. 1 seed, while the 49ers sit at 90% playoff odds with a smaller but real path to the top of the bracket. The same piece notes that Seattle and San Francisco are “also challenging L.A. for the NFC West title,” with the Rams’ margin for error described as “small.”
The Rams’ own team site is blunt about what’s at stake: they can clinch a playoff berth by beating Detroit at SoFi Stadium on Sunday afternoon. At the same time, 49ers playoff guides have framed the NFC West as a “three-team dogfight,” with the Rams having the “smoothest road ahead” but needing to avoid another slip-up like their recent loss to Carolina.
Put it together, and the math is obvious: every Rams loss — especially to a non-divisional opponent like Detroit — dramatically helps the 49ers’ chances of climbing the NFC ladder.
What a Lions Upset Would Mean for the 49ers
A Lions win would do two things the 49ers like:
- Knock the Rams back toward the pack. The Rams are currently the only NFC team that can clinch a spot in Week 15 and hold both the conference and division lead. A loss to Detroit keeps them stuck on 10 wins and opens the door for Seattle and San Francisco to close in.
- Leverage San Francisco’s tiebreakers.The 49ers own one of the best conference records in the NFC and are already banking head-to-head and conference tiebreak advantages over several wild-card rivals. A future tie with the Rams in the overall standings would likely come down to those categories, which is why 49ers analysts keep emphasizing out-of-division Rams losses as “major” for San Francisco’s seeding.
San Francisco still has to do its part against the Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears and Seahawks over the final four weeks. 49ers sites have laid out that stretch as a realistic path to double-digit wins and a potential NFC West title — but with the qualifier that it probably requires at least one Rams stumble.
That’s where Detroit comes in.
Fans & Podcasts Are Already Saying ‘Go Lions’
This isn’t just theoretical spreadsheet talk. A recent episode of the 49ers Rush Podcast spelled it out clearly. Co-host Ant from 49ers Cutback said the NFC North needs to “beat the Rams next week” and followed it up with a direct line: “We need the Lions to beat the Rams.” He added that a Detroit win would “put the 49ers in a position for that game to really matter when it comes to possibly getting a divisional championship and getting a top four seed.
On the fan side, a detailed “rooting guide” thread on the r/49ers subreddit walks through the same logic. One fan wrote that among all realistic outside results, “it’s the Rams losing to the Lions” that matters most because “WE NEED THE LIONS TO BEAT THE RAMS” to pile up non-divisional losses for Los Angeles and give San Francisco “the edge over the Rams” down the stretch.
49ers Webzone’s own playoff deep dive leans into the same theme, describing a “fantasy/dream scenario” where both the Seahawks and Rams lose to drop San Francisco into prime NFC position and labeling Rams losses as “major” in terms of impact on the 49ers’ hopes.
So while the 49ers themselves will never say it publicly, their ecosystem already has: for at least one Sunday in December, the most 49ers-friendly result in Los Angeles is a Lions upset that keeps the NFC West — and maybe even the No. 1 seed — up for grabs.
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