The 49ers needed that. Sure, it’s the Cardinals, and they have their issues, but just once, we didn’t need a divisional game coming down to the wire. Unfortunately, while the 49ers took care of business, the Los Angeles Rams did the same against the Seattle Seahawks. That puts the Rams at 8-2 and in first place, while the 49ers remain in third place.
Things will shake themselves out once the 49ers go on bye, because that extra loss is what has them behind Seattle. The good news is that the Rams’ schedule gets tougher, while the 49ers get some easier games. The two most challenging games left on the 49ers’ schedule are the Indianapolis Colts and the Seahawks. None of the other remaining games are gimmies, but if the 49ers are as good as we hope they are, that should be enough for them to clinch a playoff spot. And the NFC West is still up for grabs.
That loss to the Rams may haunt the 49ers, though.
Arizona Cardinals (3-7)
LOL Cardinals. That sums up that game. Now, to be fair, they did make some NFL history yesterday. Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett went 47-57 (82 percent completion) for 452 yards. That is the most completions in NFL history. Add two touchdowns and zero sacks taken, and one has to wonder exactly what happened to get (only) a 96.8 rating.
Well, two interceptions can do it. Both of which were terrible throws. The 49ers’ special teams (of all things) showing up doesn’t help matters. Add in Brock Purdy and the 49ers taking minutes away from everyone’s lives when they had the ball with long drives, and that might explain everything.
Oh, and 17 penalties. A Cardinals franchise record. One of which wiped out a 4th-down scamper that would have been a touchdown otherwise. I guess having a team with an injured list longer than the 49ers is also a recipe for a loss.
So while Brissett made NFL history Sunday, a lot of other things were not going his or the Cardinals’ way.
As for the 49ers, if the offense can continue to do THAT, they can win a game or two in the postseason. Keep in mind, whenever Brandon Aiyuk gets healthy (should he get healthy this season), it’s another weapon for Purdy to throw to. The Cardinals are not a good offense, and the fact that Brissett had those numbers should tell you all you need to know about the 49ers’ pass rush. Is the secondary not that good either? Well, if you can’t get to the quarterback, the secondary is going to suffer. The 49ers offense will need to carry things from here on out. It’s hard to really gauge how good the offense is with all he injuries the Cardinals were dealing with and all the bonehead decisions they made throughout the day, but it was certainly promising.
Los Angeles Rams (8-2)/Seattle Seahawks (7-3)
If you knew nothing about this game, what would your reaction be if I told you Sam Darnold threw four interceptions and the Seahawks didn’t score until 2:23 left in the fourth quarter? Thought it might be one-sided, right? Well, it was still close despite that. The Seahawks offense didn’t get a touchdown until the final minutes, but they did field goal the Rams to death, scoring 12 points through three quarters thanks to their kicker.
Unfortunately, it came down to one final field goal; the Seahawks’ kicker, Jason Myers, missed wide right.
The Rams offense showed up early, scoring 14 points in the first quarter, making the hole the Seahawks had to dig out of. They didn’t get another touchdown until the fourth quarter. So, despitDarnold’s’s turnovers, the Seattle defense kept the Rams from blowing it open and making this a blowout.
Darnold’s a lot better than this game may indicate, and while he may not be quite as good as the 1-2 man wants to tell you, he’s still a good quarterback. That said, four picks are not ideal, especially when those interceptions don’t come with a single touchdown to the stat line.
The Rams are now firmly in first place, and that loss last week may come back to bite the 49ers hard. The Rams are beatable. While they acted like they got a monkey off their backs beating the 49ers last week, I want to point out that the 49ers had their backups in there. So congrats to the Rams, I suppose. The Rams’ schedule has some challenging games going forward, but the 49ers are going to need some help to bring the Rams down a game or two if they want to win the NFC West.
Onto Week 12
The 49ers get onto prime time this week with a Monday Night Football game against the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers started with the dreaded 0-2 loss, but managed to put together some wins and sit at 6-5. Now, the only team they beat with a winning record at this moment is the Green Bay Packers, but they are 6-5 nevertheless.
The Rams have the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 49ers lost to the Buccaneers in Week 6, 30-19. That loss counts against conference opponents for tiebreaker purposes. You want the Rams to lose anyway, but you certainly want the Buccaneers to beat them so you don’t have to worry about THAT coming into play. The game will be on Sunday Night Football, so if you want to watch the Rams’ demise, you can.
The Seahawks are another story. They have the Tennessee Titans. If you’re hoping for Tennessee to deliver a loss, you might have another thing coming. The Titans have just one (1) win this year, and it was that comedy show against the Arizona Cardinals. The Seahawks’ only challenge outside of the 49ers and the Rams is the Indianapolis Colts, which happens in Week 15. Throw up a prayer for next week.
The Cardinals will get to host the Jacksonville Jaguars. They are pretty much i” “whatev”r” territory for divisional standings and are circling the drain. While the Jaguars have come back to reality in recent weeks, they should be able to beat the Cardinals. At this point, you may prefer the Cardinals to win so their draft positioning gets weaker. They’re not going to do anything this year anyway.
1st: Los Angeles Rams; Next: vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Sunday Night Football)
2nd: Seattle Seahawks; Next: at Tennessee Titans
3rd: San Francisco 49ers; Next: vs Carolina Panthers (Monday Night Football)
4th: Arizona Cardinals; Next:vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
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