The throw capped a stellar night for the Rams defense, which despite a shutdown performance that limited a third straight opponent to single-digit points, required last-second heroics to make the team’s playoff chances all but assured.

The win gives LA a better than 99% chance of reaching the postseason, needing 2.5 combined wins (two wins and at least one tie) from the Vikings, Bills, 49ers, Commanders and Browns over the next two days to do so to secure the NFC West postseason.

Witherspoon’s interception made this official.

Had he not been in the right spot and skillfully set up the fingertip grab, the Rams would have entered a life-and-death game against the Seahawks in Week 18.

“It was just a friendly reminder that the game is never over,” Witherspoon said of the game-winning catch.

The Cardinals had previously made this clear.

Arizona overcame a 10-point halftime deficit with consecutive plays of 13 and 14 on the other side of the break, increasing the score to 10-9. And although Matthew Stafford responded with a field goal on the second of those possessions, that was the Rams’ only point of the second half.

Surrounding those only three points were two three-play drives by the Rams, the second of which nullified Los Angeles’ first red-zone pick and gave Murray one final shot.

But 59 yards later, LA found a way, as it has often done in a season in which its 1-4 record turned into 10-6 with one-possession wins. This time, the team’s eighth such win happened to be thanks to Witherspoon, who started every game for the Rams in 2023 but made just his fifth start on Saturday.

“This is nothing new for me,” Witherspoon said of his role. “To be honest, it’s only been eight years on the job. That’s really all. Being able to make a move isn’t the first time this has happened either. I’ll just stay consistent, and when the time comes, it will come.”

In other cases, it was different Rams, a development McVay sees as an indication of the character of his squad.

“I think this is a mentally strong team,” said the coach. “I think this is a resilient team. Really when we talked about how to come out of the game 1-4 and find ways to finish games. Now it didn’t quite go the way we wanted, but we managed to put it in the positive column with nine out of eleven chances we had.

They’re not quite in the postseason yet – although the win over Arizona went a long way in getting them there.

If they can pull it off, a Rams run will likely require a lot more toughness.