Seahawks remain in first place in NFC West thanks to Cardinals loss

The Seattle Seahawks lost to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, but they did not lose their NFC West lead.

In a very entertaining game, the Miami Dolphins rallied from 31-24 down in the 4th quarter to beat the Arizona Cardinals by a final score of 34-31. Zane Gonzalez, who won it for the Cardinals in overtime against the Seahawks two weeks ago, missed a 49-yard field goal short (!) in the dying minutes of the game. Miami was able to do what Seattle couldn’t against the Cards and run the clock out with three running plays.

Miami’s incredible turnaround continues and they are 5-3, having gone 3-1 against the NFC West. Only the Seahawks were able to beat them and it’s clear that while most of Seattle’s wins have aged poorly, the Dolphins game has aged beautifully and Miami is legitimately in the playoff and divisional hunt.

As for the NFC West, the standings now look like this:

1.) Seattle Seahawks (6-2, 1-1 DIV)

2.) Arizona Cardinals (5-3, 2-0 DIV)

3.) Los Angeles Rams (5-3, 0-1 DIV)

4.) San Francisco 49ers (4-5, 1-2 DIV)

The good news for Seattle is that the Cards did not overtake them. Consider this a wasted opportunity instead of a chance to extend the lead. The bad news is that the Seahawks are really on the precipice of falling down to 3rd. If they lose next week to the Rams and the Cardinals beat the Bills, Seattle is at the bottom of a three-way tie at 6-3, and suddenly the Cardinals rematch on Thursday Night Football would have even greater importance.

Seattle hasn’t won the NFC West since 2016. Their playoff positioning effectively comes down to the next two weeks.