A storm is brewing in Los Angeles.On Sunday, a week after the 7-3 dropped a tough, but crucial game against the -- the King in the North -- the Rams will host the 8-2 , who just happen to be the hottest team in football having won eight straight games. It might be one of the best games of the season. Thanks to the ' win over the on Monday night, , but their lead might not last long. They're in the middle of a daunting stretch. They just lost to the Vikings. They get the Saints on Sunday. After a totally winnable game against the , they'll face the -- the best team in football by overall record -- and then the Seahawks. The Rams are in the middle of a stretch that'll define their season. Are they overachievers who are set to come crashing back down to Earth? Or are they a legitimate contender for the NFC's throne? We'll find out on Sunday. It won't be easy. But don't write off the Rams. Scott Kazmir Jersey They're actually well-equipped to stop the Saints. For as much credit as the Saints' defense has gotten for actually being competent this season -- credit they deserve, by the way, given the clown show they've been in recent years -- it's the Rams that'll trot out the marginally better defense on Sunday. Entering Week 12 (before the Thanksgiving slate of games), the Rams were ranked , sixth in points allowed per game (18.6), tied for ninth in sacks (28), and tied for fourth in takeaways (19). The Saints, meanwhile, were ranked eighth in defensive DVOA, tied for eighth in points allowed per game (19.6), tied for 12th in sacks (27), and tied for 18th in takeaways (13). Again, the difference is marginal. But it's still a difference that's worth noting, because to this point, the Saints keep racking up praise for their defensive turnaround. Let's give the Rams credit too -- good work, Wade Phillips! -- and acknowledge that they'll have the slightly better defense on Sunday. Offensively, it's pretty much a wash, but give the slight edge to the Saints. The Rams score the second-most points per game (30.3), and the Saints score the third-most points per game (30.2). With , the Saints average 271.7 pa sing yards per game, and with , the Rams average 255 pa sing yards per game. With and , the Saints average 144 rushing yards per game, and with , the Rams average 120.4 rushing yards per game. The Rams have turned the ball over two more times than the Saints. By offensive DVOA, Again, the difference is marginal, but give the edge to the Saints because they have a future Hall of Famer at quarterback and the Rams have a second-year quarterback who is an ascending talent, but still not completely proven. One area the Rams actually have a significant edge in: Special teams. By DVOA, (shoutout to punter ) and the Saints are 22nd. That matters. Jose Ramirez Jersey The point being, this should be an incredible game between two of the best teams in football, both of whom weren't expected to be alive at this point in the season. Entering the season, so they've already hit the over. The Saints? Eight wins. They can surpa s that with a win over the Rams. Both teams are banged up, but it kinda evens out. The Saints . The Rams are The game also matters a great deal to both teams. As previously mentioned, the Rams are holding a one-game lead over the Seahawks in the NFC West. The Saints, on the other hand, are only a game up on the in the NFC South. They should be fine in terms of making the playoffs, but for a dome team like the Saints, getting home-field advantage is monumental. They're only one game back of the Eagles. So, that's within reach, too. Anyway, I might've just convinced myself this is the best game of the season -- to this point, anyway. That Steelers-Patriots game in Week 15 still takes the throne. OK, moving on. Here are eight more stats to know about the NFL playoff picture heading into Sunday of Week Chipper Jones Jersey 12. 1. ' stunning defensive improvement Speaking of the Patriots, remember when they got walloped by the 42-27 before giving up 33 points to the and Panthers? Yeah, about that leaky defense that was going to prevent the Patriots from winning another . Suddenly, it has morphed into a top-level defense. Over their past six games -- all wins, by the way -- the Patriots are allowing 12.5 points! It's just another example of why you never bet against Bill Belichick. Did he make a few questionable personnel decisions over the past couple seasons? Sure. But he also turned a horrific defense into one that is more than capable of supplying with the minimal air support he needs to win another Super Bowl. Of note: Dan Hanzus (@DanHanzus) This week, the Patriots get the awful at home. That's another win right there. The AFC East, once again, belongs to the Patriots. They're three games up over the sinking . 2. The aren't dead yet Let's go from the league's best team -- sorry, Eagles, the title belongs to the Patriots still -- to David Justice Jersey the worst team. The 0-10 Cleveland Browns, are somehow still alive in the AFC playoff picture. Seriously. via our John Breech: If the Browns want to make the playoffs, let's start with the obvious: They have to win out. That means Cleveland's road to the postseason would start this week in Cincinnati. If the can start a playoff run by going "on to Cincinnati," then why can't the Browns? After beating the , the Browns would have to beat the (at L.A.), , , (at Chicago) and (at ). So basically, a team that hasn't won a game all season would have to win six games in a row. At that point, the Browns would finish with a 6-10 record. To get to the postseason, the Browns would need the 5-5 to also finish 6-10. The catch here is that the Ravens one win would have Tyler Flowers Jersey to come against the in Week 16. The other part of this scenario is that the Browns would need the and to tie at 6-10 in the AFC East. The would have to finish at 5-11, because if they finished at 6-10, they hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Browns. The complicated part with the Bills and Dolphins is that they still have to play each other twice. Since the Bills already have five wins, they would need to go 1-5 down the stretch with their one victory coming against the Dolphins. In the AFC West, the Browns would need the , and to all finish 5-11, which actually seems somewhat probable with the way those teams are playing. In a nutshell: The Browns, Ravens, Dolphins and Bills all finish 6-10 and pretty much every other team in the AFC finishes 5-11 or worse. Oh, and the Browns also need the Patriots and to win out, plus the would have to go 5-1 over their final six games. Got all that? 3. Is Trubisky the next Wentz? The 3-7 might not be in as bad of shape as the Browns, but they're also going to need a miracle to make the playoffs. They're unlikely to get one. On Sunday, they'll face the 9-1 Eagles, who have e sentially wrapped up the NFC East and are now trying to secure the NFC's stop seed. The Bears will likely get destroyed. But, while the Bears are