THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Rams entered their bye week in distress and are leaving it with opportunity.
Stinging as those three consecutive losses might have been, their 3-4 record puts them only a game back of an NFC wild-card spot in a year when 14 of 32 teams are no more than a game above or below .500. The NFC West is still up for grabs, with the Seattle Seahawks sitting at 4-2-1 and the Arizona Cardinals behind them at 3-4-1. And the four teams the Rams play in the month of November -- the Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, Miami Dolphins and New Orleans Saints -- are a combined 11-18.