Seahawks rivals: The best NFC West team of week seven
The Seahawks didn’t fare so well last week when Earl Thomas and the Ravens came to town. Let’s take a deeper look at how their rivals in the NFC West did.
It’s an understatement to say the Seahawks didn’t play well Sunday against the Ravens. Whether you think they were thoroughly outplayed or if Seattle lost because of two big plays, this was a tough loss to take. That has much less to do with the return of Earl Thomas than the fact that every NFC West rival won their game. Let’s see which team had the best day of all.
Arizona Cardinals. Zona came into their contest against the New York Giants on a two-game win streak. It’s true that neither the Bengals nor the Falcons are very good. It’s also true that Arizona won those two contests by a total of four points. But a one-point win counts the same as a 50 point win in the standings. The Cardinals got their third W of the season over the Giants, 27-21.
Running back Chase Edmonds clearly supplanted David Johnson on this day, with 126 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, Zona’s front seven brought back memories of the days of ferocious defense in the desert. Led by defensive end Chandler Jones, they sacked Giants QB Daniel Jones eight times and hit him another dozen. Granted, the Giants aren’t great, but this was a very nice win for the Cardinals, and puts them even for the year at 3-3-1.
Los Angeles Rams. The legitimate Tinseltown team needed a win badly, as they were coming off three straight losses with the last two in the division. Happily for the Sheepheads, the Falcons were tailor-made for putting an end to their streak. Los Angeles played their best overall game of the season so far in their 37-10 win over Atlanta.
Jared Goff looked like a reasonable facsimile of a $134 million quarterback for once. He was neither picked off nor sacked for the first game all year. Todd Gurley had yet another lackluster performance, but the defense finally stepped up. With Dante Fowler leading the way, the Rams sacked Matt Ryan five times, and added another nine hits on the QB. At 4-3, the Rams have reason to think they can get back into the division race.
San Francisco 49ers. And who are the Rams chasing? The same team we’re all chasing, the Niners. Unbelievably, San Francisco is the last undefeated team in the entire NFC, let alone the NFC West. This last win wasn’t easy, as they played in conditions even worse than the Seahawks-Ravens game. As usual, the story for the team by the bay was all about defense in their 9-0 win over Washington.
Nick Bosa led the charge for the Niners defense again, as they held the Skins to just 10 first downs and 154 total yards. Washington punted four times, missed a field goal, and turned the ball over on downs. It was a completely hapless performance. Yes, it’s true, they had no hap at all. They did have an early bye, but when you allow just 64 points in six games, you’re doing something right.
Next. Hawks could deal these players. dark
One thing worth noting about our rivals. The combined record of their opponents going into Sunday’s games was 4-14. No one was facing a top team, or even a decent team. That being said, the Rams have to be the best of the NFC West this week. Not only did they get off a three-game skid, but they did so decisively against an old rival of their own. With luck, the Seahawks will find the Falcons just as hospitable this coming week.