NFC West power rankings Week 2: Seahawks impress while Rams regress

After the first week of the season, the Seattle Seahawks are tied for the lead in the NFC West. What does that mean? Basically, nothing. The season will be a long grind, but at least Seattle defeated a team they should have in Week 1.

Seattle faces another team they should beat in Week 2 when they travel to play the Patriots in New England. The Patriots surprisingly defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1, but likely only because Cincinnati had a lot of weird things happen. The Seahawks should still be able to limit the New England offense fairly well.

After Week 2, however, Seattle's schedule begins to get a lot tougher. They play the Miami Dolphins in Week 3 and then the Detroit Lions in Week 4. The Lions had a tough time with another NFC West team in the season opener and that is where we will begin.

NFC West power rankings after Week 1: Seahawks move up a spot

4. Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals started off extremely well against the Buffalo Bills and even Arizona's defense looked like it might be better than expected. Then quarterback Kyler Murray did Kyler Murray things such as missing wide-open receivers (and after the game seemed to blame his offensive coordinator for the issues) and after jumping out to a 17-3 lead in the second quarter, Arizona was outscored 31-11 the rest of the way.

At least former Seahawks running back DeeJay Dallas had a good game. He returned three kicks for an average of 41 yards a return and one of them was a 96-yard touchdown. Even 2023 starting center for Seattle, Evan Brown, played decently giving up just one quarterback pressure in 38 pass-block snaps.

3. Los Angeles Rams

There was certainly no shame in the Rams taking the presumed Super Bowl-contending Detroit Lions to overtime before losing 26-20. LA's pass defense was excellent and the unit might have to carry the team for much of the season. The reason is that LA suffered a number of key injuries to their offense, including wide receiver Puka Nacua who will miss at least four games with a sprained PCL.

Seattle won't get a break with the Rams' injuries most likely, however. The Seahawks and LA do not play until Week 9. By that time, LA could be back to nearly full health.

2. Seattle Seahawks

Seattle got off to a very slow start offensively in Week 1 but this could simply be due to rust. The offensive starters only played on one series in preseason games. One can only do so much practicing in a new offensive system before being ready for real games.

Thankfully, the Seahawks' defense appears to be ready to be much better under new head coach Mike Macdonald. Seattle limited rookie quarterback Bo Nix to 138 yards passing and 35 yards rushing and held the Broncos to only 3.3 yards per play. That is winning football. Plus, the defense should become even more cohesive as the season grinds on.

1. San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers are who we thought they were, it seems. In fact, they appear to be able to replace key players with ease. Star running back Christian McCaffrey missed Week 1 with an injury so Jordan Mason got most of the carries and he turned that into 28 rushes for 147 yards a touchdown.

The 49ers' defense shut down Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers who was just 13 for 21 passing for 167 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Oddly, Rodgers was sacked just once.

San Francisco proved once again that it is currently the most well-rounded team in the division and should be the favorite to win the NFC West once again. Seattle plays the 49ers for the first time in 2024 in Week 6 on Thursday Night Football.

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