Seahawks rivals: The best NFC West team of week eight

The Seahawks bounced back in week eight but weren’t able to gain any ground on the division leader. Which of their NFC West rivals had the best week?

The Seahawks played like world-beaters in the first half versus the Falcons last week, Unfortunately, they played like anyone in the world could beat them in the second half. Regardless, the Hawks took the win home to keep pace in the NFC West. Which of our rivals had the best week of all?

Arizona Cardinals. After a three-game win streak, the Cardinals came back to earth. Sadly for fans of Zona, it was not a soft landing. On a scale of one to ten, it was more of a Hindenburg. Google it if you have to, but you make me sad, The Saints whipped them in all phases of the game, 31-9. Arizona gave up more yards and totaled fewer of their own than in any previous game this season. The game was uglier than the final score.

It didn’t help the Cardinals that Drew Brees came back from his thumb injury after five weeks. You could see he was rusty, as he only threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns. Seriously, if he’d really been in midseason form, he probably would have had at least another score and another hundred yards. Arizona couldn’t get anything going on the ground, and Kyler Murray was basically held in check. The Cards finished with just 10 first downs and a bad loss.

Los Angeles Rams. After their rough patch of three straight losses, the guys in the wooly helmets are back on track with their second straight win. I would make light of the fact that those two wins are over teams with 15 losses between them, but the Seahawks defeated those teams by a combined eight points. The Rams beat the Bengals pretty handily, 24-10.

Los Angeles had two reasons to celebrate after this game. Jared Goff threw for two touchdowns for the fourth time this season and didn’t turn the ball over for the second straight game. Even better, Cooper Kupp had a huge game. Kupp caught seven balls for 220 yards and a touchdown. How he had 220 yards and managed just one score is a question for the analytics department. and we don’t have one. Good game for the Rams, regardless.

San Francisco 49ers. Okay, I can’t keep this subterfuge going any longer. Obviously, the Niners had the best week of any of our NFC West rivals. If all they had done was won by one point over the hapless Bengals by a field goal as time ran out, they would have had the best week. They’re the only undefeated team in the conference, let alone the division. The fact the 49ers laid a totally nasty 51-13 whuppin’ on the Panthers served notice to any doubters, they’re for real.

The Panthers are a decent team. They were 4-2 coming into their visit to the Bay and had solid wins over the Texans and Jaguars to their credit. The Niners were not impressed, clearly. They maintained their crushing running attack, rolling for 232 yards on Carolina. That’s 130 yards more than the Panthers had allowed per game before Sunday. Tevin Coleman had four touchdowns, including a short pass from Jimmy Garoppolo.

The Niners defense was hellacious, as they have been all season. They didn’t really have an answer for Christian McCaffrey, but nobody does. San Francisco had three interceptions off QB Kyle Allen, sacked him seven times, and hit him nine more times. Nick Bosa was a force of nature. Sorry I spoiled it for you earlier, but the Niners clearly had the best week of any of the Seahawks rivals in the division. The Seahawks have one more game before their huge showdown. After they host Tampa Bay, Seattle will face their biggest challenge yet on Veterans Day in San Francisco to battle for the NFC West.