Updated NFC West Standings: Where Seahawks stand after week eight

The Seattle Seahawks remain in first through the halfway point of the NFL season.

It was another wild weekend in the NFL. We saw upsets such as the Vikings defeating the Packers and the Bengals knocking off the Titans. We saw the expected beatdowns with the Chiefs destroying the Jets and the Colts dominating the Lions. In the NFC West, the Seattle Seahawks kept their first-place status with a big win over the 49ers. The Rams were put on upset alert as the Miami Dolphins defense dominated.

With Week 9 around the corner, we have another big weekend coming up for the NFC West. The San Francisco 49ers will be kicking off the week with an NFC Championship rematch on Thursday Night Football. Both the Packers and Niners are banged up, so it should be interesting to see what happens in that one. Seattle will head on the road to take on the Buffalo Bills. The Cardinals will take on the red hot Miami Dolphins while the Los Angels Rams will be on a bye week.

Still, many questions remain for each team in this division as the race for first place gets tighter. The 49ers season may be over with a loss tonight. But, as always, before we look ahead to Week 9, let’s recap Week 8 in the NFC West.

Week 8 Recap:

Miami Dolphins defeat Los Angeles Rams, 28-17

Rookie QB Tua Tagovailoa made his debut against the red hot Rams defense. He got off to a poor start as Aaron Donald forced an early fumble. But, it was the Dolphins defense and special teams that saved the day. The Dolphins had an early pick six, they forced a fumble that resulted in them getting the ball at the one-yard line and they also had a punt return touchdown. The Rams offense played very sloppily. Defensively, they did their part as the Dolphins didn’t ask Tua to do too much since they had a lead. The Rams now enter their bye week disappointed they couldn’t come out of Miami with a win.

Seattle Seahawks defeat San Francisco 49ers, 37-27

Both teams were dealing with some injuries in this one. But, it did not matter as much for the Seahawks as they dominated for three and a half hours. This was the best overall game this team has played outside of Miami. The defense picked it up and forced an early turnover that changed the momentum of this game. In terms of play-calling, Seattle blitzed on 50% of their defensive plays, which was a season-high. It did work though as Bobby Wagner was flying all over the place. Very impressive win for Seattle over divisional rival, 49ers. Unfortunately for the Niners, both Jimmy Garoppolo and George Kittle suffered injuries that will keep them sidelined for multiple weeks.

JLuppy’s Week 8 Picks — (1-1)

JLuppy’s Record — (14-9)

NFC West Standings

Week 9 Preview

Green Bay Packers (-7) @ San Francisco 49ers

Week 9 of the NFL is kicked off with Thursday Night Football featuring an NFC Championship rematch between the Packers and 49ers. Both teams will be missing a bunch of key players tonight. The Packers are dealing with some COVID related issues that have depleted their backfield. The Niners are dealing with a mixture of COVID-related issues along with injuries to several key players that have depleted this roster. The Packers will have Rodgers and Adams playing tonight, so I am going to ride with them. The Niners are physical upfront and will try to establish the run against a weak Packers front seven. However, I got the Packers winning by at least 10.

Seattle Seahawks (-3) @ Buffalo Bills

This one is going to be a fun matchup. Russell Wilson is undefeated in his career against the Bills. In fact, this will be his first career game in Buffalo. With a win, Wilson will become the most winningest QB in NFL history through 9 seasons. I got the Seahawks winning by at least a touchdown in this one. Their defense showed flashes last week against the Niners and they are healthy this week. Jamal Adams will be back and Carlos Dunlap will be making his debut as a Seahawk. I do not trust Josh Allen yet and I see this defense being able to force some turnovers.

Miami Dolphins @ Arizona Cardinals (-4)

The Arizona Cardinals will be coming off their bye week facing the red hot Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins are currently on a three-game win streak and rookie QB Tua Tagovailoa is undefeated in his young career. This should be a fun exciting matchup featuring two young quarterbacks who are expected to be the future of this league. I like the Dolphins in this one simply because their defense is no joke. With the number one scoring defense, I see them having a shot at winning this one. If not, they will lose by a field goal. Give me the points on the Dolphins.

Los Angeles Rams (5-3) — Bye Week

The Rams enter their bye week with a sour taste of a loss. The season is nearing the important months of November and December and the Rams need all the wins they can get. They still have to face Seattle twice — one being next week — in which both games will have serious implications on this division race. Regardless, through the halfway point of the year, it has been the Rams defense that is carrying the weight of this team. The question remains, can they keep that up?

Source: DraftKings

JLuppy’s Week 9 Picks:

Green Bay Packers (-7)

Seattle Seahawks (-3)

Miami Dolphins (+4)