The NFC West is back after the trio of byes, and once again, it shows how it’s a powerhouse in the NFL. All four teams won this week, which means nothing much changes in the rankings.
What is important is what happens next week. Next week, the entire division is in divisional games. The San Francisco 49ers play the Rams, and the Seattle Seahawks play the Cardinals. All four teams winning will not be possible. What we will get is some answers. The 49ers are currently 3-0 in the division. Another divisional win next week has them sitting verrrry pretty.
A loss to the Rams wouldn’t be devastating, but it certainly wouldn’t be ideal since that would give them a two-game lead.
Let’s take a look at what happened.
Seattle Seahawks (6-2)
Well, it was entertaining for a hot minute. Or a hot 17 minutes. Those minutes of the Seahawks’ Sunday Night Football game against the Washington Commanders. The Seahawks were up 7-0 and on the ensuing Commanders possession, Jayden Daniels threw an interception. It pretty much went downhill for the Commanders from there. Seattle scored on the turnover. Then cause a fumble on the kickoff. Scored again.
And then it was just that on repeat. Sure, 38-14 is embarrassing, but that’s not the worst part for the Commanders. Quarterback Jayden Daniels left the game in what can only be described as a horrific injury and could be out for the season. Those of you who remember Joe Theisman (and even Alex Smith) know freak injuries and the Washington Commanders’ quarterbacks seem to go together.
If there ever was a statement game for the Seahawks, that probably could be it. Sure, we (or I) make fun of them daily, but Sunday’s win was nothing short of impressive. Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold went 21-24 (87.5 percent completions), 330 yards, four touchdowns, one interception, and a quarterback rating of 141.0. That’s…pretty darn good.
Before his injury, Daniels appeared visibly frustrated with his receivers getting open. One has to wonder what’s been going on with Deebo Samuel. Samuel had one carry for three yards and five receptions for 41 yards. In no way does Samuel look awful, but does he look worth the contract he currently has? I’ll let you decide on that.
Los Angeles Rams (6-2)
As we continue a day of winning for the division, we go to another one-sided game. The Rams faced the New Orleans Saints, and the talent gap was apparent from the start. The first half was pretty much all Rams. They went to the locker room up 20-3.
The second half had a brief moment where you thought the Saints might get back into it. After some flags, the Saints moved down the field to score and make it 20-10. This was also going to be the last time the Saints scored points of any kind for the remainder of the game.
The Rams proceeded to…uh…“ram” the ball down the Saints’ throats for the rest of the broadcast. Matthew Stafford went 24-32 (75 percent completions) for 281 yards and four touchdowns. Two of which went to Davante Adams, one to Puka Nacua, and one to Tyler Higbee.
Not to be outdone, Kyren Williams strolled into the end zone as well to cap off a 114 yards rushing performance.
Everyone wants to talk about how good the Rams are, and yes, they are pretty good.
But the 49ers beat them. While injured. The 49ers also beat the Seahawks. But that was a very different 49ers team than the one now. The Rams will be looking to even the score with the 49ers for that blunder a few weeks ago, and if the 49ers beat them again after the Rams have had all these impressive performances since, well, that might say something.
Arizona Cardinals (3-5)
While the 49ers are being strategic with their draft picks and making sure they don’t pull the trigger on one-and-dones, at 6-2 no less, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys keep yapping about how they are going to make and get help immediately. The Cowboys are now 3-5-1, by the way.
Because more trades make a ton of sense at that point.
Anyways, the Cowboys hosted the Cardinals, and as I said last week, this had the workings of an instant classic for the wrong reasons. What we got was a 2-5 team against a 3-4-1 team, and it was not a classic. It was just a nationally televised football game between two teams with losing records.
But that’s not to say there weren’t some cool moments. Marvin Harrison Jr., a wide receiver many were dumping on just a few weeks ago, showed the growth he’s had over the season with this nutso separation:
The Cardinals’ defense came up with a turnover shortly thereafter, and it seemed like they might add to their 10-0 lead. Then this happened:
So much for running away with it.
That’s probably the closest the Cowboys came to the lead all night. Yes, there were more touchdowns by both teams, but the Cardinals were able to hold onto a 10-point lead through most of the remainder of the game. Final score 27-17, Cardinals. Credit to the Cardinals’ defense, who had three turnovers and were swarming all over the field that night.
But now, the Cardinals have a new problem: their quarterback situation. Jacoby Brissett got two touchdowns and 261 yards passing. 97 of those yards went to Harrison. I’ve seen some questions about whether Kyler Murray was holding Harrison back. No, Harrison hasn’t had a 100-yard receiving game yet this year, and Week 7, the Cardinals’ last game before the Cowboys, Harrison had 58 yards. So whether it’s Murray or Brisett, it doesn’t matter who’s throwing it.
That said, Brissett could raise questions about Murray’s effectiveness. Murray racks up a nice set of completions each game, but it’s usually for 150-ish yards. Brissett has games like we saw tonight. This isn’t to say Brissett is the answer, because he most likely isn’t. But it’s worth questioning whether Murray is the answer in Arizona and if that’s the offense they want to run. I’m curious what Murray would have been like against this Cowboys team instead of Brissett.
That’s a question for the Cardinals. The question for the Cowboys who are they going to trade for when they are 3-5-1. Why make a trade when you ran off one of the better defensive linemen in the league?
Onto Week 10
The NFC West will be fighting amongst itself this week. The 49ers have a chance to move up in the NFC West standings as they host the Los Angeles Rams in their second game of the season. While the game is in San Francisco, the big difference will be the loss of the 49ers’ defensive stars, including Fred Warner and Nick Bosa. The 49ers beat the Rams thanks to a stout defense that refused to let them get inches. That same defense is missing who we just mentioned and might not be able to do the same thing a second week. Regardless, should the 49ers pull out a second win over the Rams, they would be sitting pretty.
The Seahawks and Cardinals will duke it out as well. The Cardinals lost to the Seahawks 23-20 in their first Thursday Night Football game. A game that made us wonder how good the Seahawks were. Then the Seahawks got better, and the Cardinals went on to that Tennessee game. It’s safe to say both have gone on different paths. A Cardinals win would be nice here, but don’t bet on it.
1st: Seattle Seahawks; Next: vs. Arizona Cardinals
2nd: Los Angeles Rams; Next: at San Francisco 49ers
3rd: San Francisco 49ers; Next: vs Los Angeles Rams
4th: Arizona Cardinals; Next: at Seattle Seahawks
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