The NFC West is anybody’s division for the taking. Consider this: All four teams are within a game of each other in the standings, there are scenarios in which all four teams could be in first place in the division within the next two weeks, and a scenario in which they could be in last place.
If the Arizona Cardinals beat the Seahawks in Seattle on Sunday, they would remain alone atop the NFC West at 7-4. If Seattle (currently 5-5) wins, the Seahawks could move back atop the division if the LA Rams (5-5) lose at home to the NFC East-leading Philadelphia Eagles.
The only team without a crack at the top spot this week is San Francisco (the 49ers could be tied but lose a tiebreaker). The 49ers (5-5) were the odds-on favorite to win the division when the season began, but they fell into last place in the division when Seattle snapped a six-game losing streak to their division rival on Geno Smith’s game-winning touchdown scramble.
In bears mentioning that two-time All-Pro tight end George Kittle, Pro Bowl cornerback Charvarius Ward and All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga all missed the Seahawks game with injuries, 49ers star receiver Brandon Aiyuk is out for the season with a torn ACL, and midway through the third quarter of that game, All-Pro edge rusher Nick Bosa left with an oblique injury.
But that’s life in the NFL. It was fashionable to bury the Seahawks when they went into the bye week having lost five of their past six games, but a win in Santa Clara, California reminded everyone that this is a week-to-week league.
(Graphic by Damon Fairall, PHNX Sports)
More NFC West
This Sunday’s game in Seattle is so important for the Cardinals. With a stretch of five games against Seattle (twice in three weeks), Minnesota, New England and Carolina, Arizona could all but wrap up the NFC West if it plays well in this stretch, making the Rams and 49ers games in the final two weeks of the season largely meaningless.
The Cardinals already own the best odds of winning the division and have a 65 percent probability of making the playoffs, but even a win this week could result in a huge advantage in the division with the 49ers playing in Green Bay and the Rams hosting the Eagles.
The Cardinals have not won the NFC West since 2015 and boast just three division titles — 2008 and 2009 were the others — in their Arizona tenure.
Playoff picture
Right now, the Cardinals would be the NFC’s No. 3 seed and host the Green Bay Packers in a wild-card round game. The Packers beat the Cardinals, 34-13, in Week 6 in Green Bay. That was the low point of the season before the current four-game winning streak.
That scenario is likely to change again. Last week, the Cardinals were the No. 4 seed and slated to face the Vikings before the Falcons — then the No. 3 seed; now the No. 4 seed — were blown out in Denver.
The meeting with Minnesota next week is the only game over the next five weeks in which Arizona will face a team that currently boasts a winning record. The Cardinals still have the easiest schedule in the NFC West. Per tankathon.com Arizona has the 19th-hardest schedule, the rest of the season while their NFC West rivals are not so fortunate. The 49ers face the fourth-hardest schedule, the Seahawks face the ninth-hardest schedule and the Rams face the 11th-hardest schedule.
Trending up
Detroit Lions: Winners of an NFL-high eight straight games, the Lions (9-1) lit up the Jacksonville Jaguars for 52 points last week with Jared Goff throwing for 412 yards and four TDs. The Lions had 645 yards of offense and limited the Jags to 170.
Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles (8-2) have won six straight games since their bye week and they seized control of the NFC East with a win against Washington on Sunday. With 1,137 rushing yards through 10 games, Saquon Barkley, a free-agent offseason signing, is second to Baltimore’s Derrick Henry for the NFL lead.
LA Rams: Despite a surprising home loss to the Dolphins two weeks ago, the Rams (5-5) have won four of their past five games and are very much alive in the NFC West picture after a win over the Patriots in New England last week. This week’s game against the Eagles will be a huge test.
Trending down
Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons (6-4) have a two-game lead on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for first place in the NFC South. So why are they in this category? Because they have lost two straight. The Bucs (4-6), as noted below, have an absurdly easy schedule in which they could run the table or go 6-1. The Falcons are the only first-place team in the NFL with negative point differential (minus-30).
Washington Commanders: The Commanders (7-4) still have a comfortable lead in the wild card race, but they have dropped two straight (to good teams in the Steelers and Eagles) and really haven’t looked good for the past four (close wins against the Bears and Giants). Jayden Daniels has recorded three of his five lowest QBRs of the season in the past four weeks, including a season-low 22.6 against the Eagles last week.
Chicago Bears: The Bears (4-6) lost their fourth straight game and once again, it was calamitous. Karl Brooks blocked Cairo Santos’ game-winning field goal attempt from 46 yards as time expired. The Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron a week ago. How long before head coach Matt Eberflus follows him out the door?
Week 12’s key games
Tampa Bay at New York Giants, 11 AM, Sunday: At 4-6, the Bucs can’t afford any more missteps but the schedule may help them. Tampa has the league’s second easiest schedule with games against the Giants (2-8), two games against Carolina (3-7), and one each against Las Vegas (2-8), the LA Chargers (7-3), Dallas (3-7) and New Orleans (4-7).
San Francisco at Green Bay, 2:25 PM, Sunday: The Packers are trying to catch the Vikings and Lions in the NFC North; the 49ers are fighting for their playoff lives. You have to believe it’s going to take at least 10 wins (and maybe some tiebreakers) to make the playoffs in the NFC. If San Francisco loses this one, the 49ers will have little or no margin for error.
Philadelphia at LA Rams: 6:25 PM, Sunday: The Eagles have a two-game lead atop the NFC East and a win against second-place Washington that makes it feel like a three-game lead. The Rams, like the 49ers, have little margin for error the rest of the way.
Top photo of Seahawks QB Geno Smith scoring the game-winning TD against the 49ers via Getty Images
