I said last week the 49ers may have to run the table to win this divisional thing, but they’d still need some help. Well, the 49ers did their part, beating the Cleveland Browns 26-8 and improved to 9-4 on the season. They also got some BIG help on Sunday with the Los Angeles Rams falling to the Carolina Panthers. The same Carolina Panthers that the 49ers beat up on the week prior.
The loss helps the NFC West standings and the conference tiebreakers. The Rams may need a couple more conference losses to have it swing in the 49ers’ favor, but I’ll take what I can get.
The 49ers are now 9-4, going into the bye week with an absolutely depleted defensive roster. Even when considering the Super Bowl seasons, this may be Kyle Shanahan’s most impressive year as head coach, given what he’s had to deal with.
The best part is that the people getting the reps are the youngsters. Remember everyone calling for trades and free agency spending? The 49ers decided to stick with the younger guys and give them experience. It hasn’t always been pretty, but there’s a lot to build on with this defense. One more draft and a hopeful retention of Robert Saleh, and that defense could be downright filthy next year.
In the NFC playoff picture, the 49ers are the seventh seed. For them to get a division win, or even that coveted first-round bye, KP has the scenario written up right here.
As for Week 13? Well, the Rams’ probability to win the whole thing took a hit, thanks to Carolina.
Los Angeles Rams (9-3)
Last week, all we heard about was Brock Purdy’s three interceptions against the Panthers’ defense. Concerning? Yes. Should he be benched? Um, no.
Well, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford’s streak of touchdowns without interceptions (28) ended at the hands of the Carolina Panthers. Stafford threw two interceptions (one of which was returned for a touchdown) and also lost a fumble that decided the game. Carolina came out hot, getting a 14-7 lead to start the first quarter. The Rams tried to take the lead by getting another 14 points in the second quarter, but the Panthers were not going away. After a nice Bryce Young fourth-and-2 strike to put the Panthers up 31-28, the Panthers just had to play defense for another six minutes.
And play defense they did, forcing the fumble at the two-minute warning and upsetting the Rams. Final score: 31-28
But back to Stafford, he didn’t have his best game. I know he has some accolades, like his streak of touchdowns without an interception, but the point is, quarterbacks have bad games.
The Rams drop to 9-3 and are back tied with the 49ers, at least for one more week.
And congrats to Carolina. You now have beaten a second team above .500.
Seattle Seahawks (9-3)
When you heard the Minnesota Vikings were not starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy, you knew bad things could happen. Yes, McCarthy has been underwhelming in his first season as the signal caller, but who else is there?
Max Brosmer, that’s who.
Things were positive to start. In the second quarter, it was 3-0 Seahawks, and the Vikings recovered a Sam Darnold fumble. They got all the way to the Seahawks’ 5-yard line and decided to go for it on fourth-and-1. Not a bad decision given where your team is on the field and the team you’re playing. What is a bad decision is what Brosmer did on said “fourth-and-1.”
That’s about as close as the Vikings came to scoring the whole day. Final score 26-0, Seahawks. The Vikings are a mess, so it’s a bit hard to take stock in the Seahawks other than how good their defense is (and it’s good).
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold? 14-26 (53 percent), two fumbles, and zero touchdowns. A crowd-pleasing 67.5 passer rating. Then again, he didn’t really need to do much in this game. Kicker Jason Myers was busy knocking all four of his field goals for 12 points.
Sam Darnold has been hot or cold as of late, and people are bringing up the “big” games he plays in and how he seems to shut things down. Is that going to happen if the Seahawks make the playoffs? We’ll see.
Arizona Cardinals (3-8)
The Cardinals will not play into the postseason. That’s really the only takeaway from their 20-17 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
As for the game? Arizona didn’t lead for a single play in the game, getting three points after the Buccaneers scored 10. Arizona managed to keep it within seven, even three points, as the game went on, but it was apparent the Buccaneers were in complete control, imposing their will all day.
The Cardinals now drop to 3-9 and will not be playing in the postseason. There are many questions about the team and its coach. Head coach Jonathan Gannon has had a lot of embarrassing moments this season, and it will be interesting to see what happens to his job.
The Cardinals still have a job to do, however: divisional games. Go all out and give us some losses, boys.
Could Kyler Murray return for a final evaluation before 2026? Gannon was “not sure” about opening up his practice window. That’s…cryptic.
Onto Week 14
The 49ers will get a much-needed bye week. A bye week they could have used a few weeks back. This should even out the losses column since the rest of the West already had their bye week.
The Rams will be traveling to face the Arizona Cardinals. This is a very, very dangerous game for the Rams. The Cardinals are all but out of things right now and want to build some momentum. Ruining the Rams’ playoff positioning as a division rival, even if it helps the 49ers, is something they would take pride in. Cardinals, don’t let us down.
The Seahawks will be traveling to face the Atlanta Falcons. We’ll be watching to see if Sam Darnold is good to go this week. Are the Falcons any better after the 49ers game a few weeks ago? Well, they lost to the New York Jets 27-24. That should answer any questions you have about the Falcons. If Atlanta can pull out a win, the 49ers will be sitting pretty.
1st: Los Angeles Rams; Next: at Arizona Cardinals
2nd: Seattle Seahawks; Next: at Atlanta Falcons
3rd: San Francisco 49ers; Next: BYE
4th: Arizona Cardinals ELIMINATED: Next: vs Los Angeles Rams
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