Updated NFC West standings after Seattle Seahawks much needed Week 2 win vs. Lions

It's pretty odd to consider a Week 2 game in the NFL a must-win game. Given the length of the season and majority of teams no longer playing starters in the preseason, teams are more likely than not to get off to a slow start. But, for the Seattle Seahawks, they needed to badly get in the win column. It wasn't necessarily the opponent they were facing that put that pressure on them to win. It was more so the lack of intensity and poor film that was put on display in Week 1.

While the Seahawks bounced back from Week 1, the Cardinals and Rams both suffered losses. Both teams lost games by a close margin against opponents in which many thought were going to win by a wide margin. It feels as through two weeks, the Rams are the cinderella story that no one knows is a cinderella story. People seem to be drinking that kool-aid in a thirsty manner.

The San Francisco 49ers continue to impress. A couple poor reads and mis-throws by Brock Purdy forced the 49ers to surrender on drives that should have resulted in scores. But, this team once again looked dominant on both sides of the ball. They win in the trenches and set the tone with their physical play right from the start. Through two weeks, it doesn't look like the NFC West crown is going elsewhere.

NFC West Standings ahead of Week 3 games

As we get closer to the end of September and to the beginning of October, many teams' glaring weakness become apparent on film. However, Week 3 is still one of those early game opportunities for a team to surprise some and put together a good performance, resulting in an upset.

The 49ers, on a short week, destroyed the Giants on Thursday Night Football. A Giants team which was pretty banged up. Missing key players on both sides of the ball made it difficult for them to overcome the physical style of play from the 49ers. In the first three weeks, New York's rushing defense has been a problem and the 49ers were all too happy to exploit that issue with Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel.

Los Angeles find themselves on Monday Night Football this week against a desparate Bengals team. Winless at this point of the year, just like last year, Cincinnati is in familiar territory. With a calm, cool and collected quarterback in Joe Burrow, I expect them to bounce back. But, through the first two weeks of the season, how about Puka Nacua? The Cooper Kupp clone has been exceptional for this offense and the Rams seemed to have found themselves a late round gem.

The Seattle Seahawks bounced back nicely in Week 2 on the road against the Detroit Lions. They now return home to face the Carolina Panthers and look to give the 12s a much better show than that of Week 1. With Bryce Young being hurt, the Seahawks need to be careful of once again overlooking an opponent. Andy Dalton is a seasoned vet and we can not forget this matchup last year, where Carolina bullied Seattle on their home turf.

Week 2 was a tale of two halves for the Arizona Cardinals. First half, fire and desire as they went into halftime pitching a shutout against the Giants, leading 20-0. Second half, a harsh dose of reality. Blowing a 21-point lead in second half is not going to do this team justice with the Dallas Cowboys on deck. Although, I will admit, Josh Dobbs has been impressive in his two starts given the little amount of time he has been given to learn this offense.

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