SAN DIEGO _ It's a nervous time for the Los Angeles Rams, who would like to qualify for a third consecutive Super Bowl tournament, in part to help owner Stan Kroenke sell tickets and sponsorships to a $5 billion stadium development plagued by cost overruns.
The Rams (8-5) can't reach the playoffs, though, unless another team helps them.
Here's where it gets more interesting: It's the Chargers franchise of Dean Spanos that can help Kroenke and Co, by beating the Minnesota Vikings (9-4) on Sunday in Carson.
In other words, Kroenke will be sweating out a Chargers game, much as hundreds of thousands of San Diegans sweated out Bolts games over the years.
Many of those San Diegans, speaking from experience, would tell Kroenke and Rams coach Sean McVay not to get their hopes up.
On the bright side for the Rams, the Chargers (5-8) will be under little pressure Sunday because they're out of the playoff race and also they have the playmakers to beat a Vikings club that's favored by only 2.5 points despite the four-game gap in the win-loss records.
If the Bolts lose, it wouldn't be the first time they disappointed Kroenke and Co., who have had an uneasy alliance with Chargers leaders, having differed in matters relating to the Inglewood stadium the teams will inhabit.
Kroenke may even think Team Spanos owes him a few favors.
After all, Kroenke led the effort to get approval of the Inglewood stadium project, which led to the NFL granting tenancy to the Chargers, an offer Spanos and his three siblings accepted before relocating the team north.
It didn't go over well with the Rams that in March, the Chargers rolled out Swap Meet prices on thousands of premium ticket packages for the Inglewood venue. While the pricing made sense in light of the Chargers' struggles to gain traction in L.A., the low prices undercut the Rams' efforts to sell inventory at higher prices.
The Rams reached last year's Super Bowl, but fell off this season while two division rivals emerged as big winners. They've rallied, winning three games in a row.
The Vikings hold the NFL's second wild card, and the Rams can't catch them unless the Vikings lose (Minnesota closes at home against the Packers and Bears). The first wild card belongs to the Seahawks (10-3). The Vikings and Seahawks are chasing the North-leading Packers (10-3) and West-leading 49ers (11-2), respectively.
