The Los Angeles Rams will head into this final week of the 2023 NFL season with a pleasant-surprise playoff berth, as they have clinched a spot in the NFC tournament.

And they will head into the new calendar year with a new kicker.

Oh, and what a wild twist it would be if that new kicker – who happens to be old pal Brett Maher – ends up playing for the Rams against the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the upcoming NFL playoffs?

The Rams on Monday cut Lucas Havrisik and turned back its game of Kicker Musical Chairs by signing Maher … who Cowboys fans know all too well.

Maher had two stints in Dallas, but fell apart late last year, a victim of what his own boss, Cowboys special-teams coordinator “Bones” Fassel termed “the yips.”

Maher, 34, has bounced around a bit in the last year. But as he rejoins L.A. – he kicked in eight games for the Rams earlier this year – he gets a chance to bew a playoff hero … maybe even here in DFW at AT&T Stadium.

The 11-5 Cowboys’ path to opening at home is clear: Win next week at woeful Washington and Dallas is the No. 2 seed.

Meanwhile, the Rams will either be the No. 6 or the No. 7 seed in the NFC. And No. 2 will play host to No. 7. And Brett Maher could be returning to Dallas … as a visitor.