Former Rams OL Richie Incognito Says LA is in Danger of Missing Playoffs

The Los Angeles Rams have gotten off to a troubling 2-3 start. While there is plenty of football left to play, the inconsistencies the team has faced have been well documented. 

Five games in will not dictate the way this team finishes the season, but they are treading some dangerous waters in terms of no longer being able to compete for the NFC West title. However, former NFL offensive lineman Richie Incognito sees the Rams as being in danger of missing the playoffs entirely.

Following the Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, everyone assumed it was Sean McVay's travel plans that led to the lopsided loss. 

The Rams bounced back in a major way in Week 2, handily beating the New York Giants with a final score of 28-6. The dominance the team showed looked like the former Super Bowl favorite squad that was expected.

During Week 3, the Rams were rough, and ultimately could not close out the Denver Broncos. After rallying to score 14 points against the Philadelphia Eagles, things appeared to be trending in the right direction.

That was not the case, as Los Angeles dropped another close one to the Buffalo Bills when Harrison Mevis had his kick blocked to win the game.

Mevis has since been released, but releasing a troubled kicker may not fix the up-and-down nature this Rams team has faced. It is the manner in which they are performing that led to Incognito predicting they could simply miss the playoffs. 

Incognito spoke to DJ Sadiqqi of Covers.com in an exclusive interview, where he stated that the Rams are simply not playing well enough. 

"With the way that they're playing right now, they could possibly miss the postseason. You have to understand that it's probably going to come down to San Francisco and Seattle to win that division, right?

"So now the Rams are going to have to take the wild card route. They're sitting at 2-3 right now. They need to at least get to 10 or 11 wins to make some noise in the wild card, right?

"You have all these other teams that are kind of collecting wins right now, maybe not playing their best ball. If the Rams drop another two or three games and injuries mount up, there is a shot that they could miss the postseason," Incognito said.

Incognito made some very good points. One: simply how well the 49ers and Seattle Seahawks have been playing.

With an incredibly injured team, the 49ers remain 5-0 and comfortably sitting at the top of the NFC West. The Seahawks lost a nail-biter to the Denver Broncos on Thursday and are 3-3.

Seattle's season has gone a bit awry as well, but there are other NFC teams to watch out for. The Minnesota Vikings lead the NFC North with a 5-0 record, while both the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions are 3-2.

Assuming both teams continue to notch wins, it will make the Rams landing a Wild Card spot more difficult, if they continue to drop close games. 

There are always sleepers in each conference as well. Los Angeles' margin for error shrinks every week, and falling to 2-4 after Week 6 to start the season would be a huge hit. The Arizona Cardinals have had their own struggles this season, so this feels like a must-win game for the Rams.