THOUSAND OAKS — Coming into the season, you’d be forgiven if you expect to be paying attention to draft pole position instead of the playoff standings when it comes to the Rams. With the lowest payroll in the NFL, the Rams weren’t supposed to be in the hunt in mid-December.

But at 6-7 with four games to play, the Rams are in a five-way tie for the NFC’s final playoff spot with Green Bay, Seattle, New Orleans and Atlanta. With the standings so condensed, let’s take a look at what needs to happen for the Rams to make the playoffs for the first time since winning Super Bowl LVI.

The task at hand

First things first, the Rams have to beat the Washington Commanders (4-9) on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.

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The Commanders come to Inglewood in the midst of a dismal stretch, having lost four in a row and two straight by the composite score of 90-25. They are in the bottom percentiles in the NFL in offense and defense. After two weeks of high-stakes football against playoff competition, the Rams have to avoid a letdown against this opponent.

“It’s the NFL,” Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “Each defense, each team creates unique challenges each week and that’s something that as a coaching staff and as players, we try to go out there and solve and then go out there and execute on Sunday.”

But the Rams could be thrown a curveball Sunday.

Defensive tackle Aaron Donald was a late addition to the injury report Saturday, listed as questionable with tightness in his groin. While the Rams have as a whole surpassed all expectations on defense this season, everything they do on that side of the ball revolves around Donald’s gravity.

So, if Donald can’t play, how much pressure can Kobie Turner and Byron Young – first and second among rookies in sacks – generate without Donald occupying two or three blockers? How about the linebackers with more offensive linemen reaching the second level in the run game? Can defensive backs maintain coverage if QB Sam Howell has more time to throw?

The controllables

Entering Sunday, the Rams’ next three opponents have a combined record of 15-24. Thursday’s opponent, the New Orleans Saints, sits tied with the Rams at 6-7, while their Week 17 foe, the New York Giants, are lurking behind the Rams at 5-8. So that’s three winnable games, two with major tiebreaker implications, before closing the season against the 49ers.

Perhaps the Rams get lucky and the 49ers have clinched the NFC’s top seed and a first-round bye, and are resting key players in Week 18. But the Rams can’t gamble on that, and need to win these next three games to feel secure heading into the final weekend.

A little help from their friends

The Rams currently are in eighth place, not seventh in the current playoff projections, because they lost in November to the 6-7 Packers and Green Bay holds the head-to-head tiebreaker. So the Rams need the Packers to lose a couple games down the stretch to pull ahead of them.

The Packers’ remaining strength of schedule complicates that matter. Sunday, the Packers face Tampa Bay, another 6-7 team that currently is in first place in the NFC South. That is followed by a road game against the Panthers, owners of the NFL’s worst record, before closing at 7-7 Minnesota and against 5-8 Chicago.

But the Rams’ playoff hopes don’t entirely hinge on the Packers. The Vikings are in sixth place in the NFC and dropped to .500 with an overtime loss to the Bengals on Saturday. Minnesota closes with two games against NFC North-leading Detroit sandwiched around the Packers.