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After going into Seattle and beating down the Seahawks, the Los Angeles Rams are rolling toward their first NFC West crown since 2003. They can clinch the division with a win over the Titans on Sunday. But all is not well in Los Angeles. 

The NFL's injury bug struck again. On Wednesday, the Rams placed one of their most important players on injured reserve. Kicker Greg Zuerlein is done for the season due to a back injury. They signed Sam Ficken to replace him.

It's not often kicker news becomes a nationally relevant story, but the loss of Zuerlein is massive for a Super Bowl contender, which the 10-4 Rams are. 

The Rams are 10-4 primarily because quarterback Jared Goff has turned the corner after a dreadful rookie season, running back Todd Gurley has morphed into an MVP candidate, and the defense has become a formidable unit, but don't overlook the Rams' special teams. As a unit, they're second in special teams DVOA. Zuerlein is a big reason why.

His final stat line will end with 38 field goals on 40 attempts. Impressively, he went 12 of 12 from 40-49 yards and 6 of 7 from 50-plus yards. He was 44 of 46 on extra points.On Tuesday, he was voted to the Pro Bowl along with Rams punter Johnny Hekker and Rams returner Pharoh Cooper. He'll be missed as the Rams enter the postseason where, as we all know by now, a good kicker can be the difference between a devastating loss and an improbable win -- just ask the Patriots.

Ficken has never kicked in an NFL regular season game. He spent his college career at Penn State, where he made 72 percent of his field goals in four seasons. He'll now be the Rams' kicker during the most important part of their season.