Rest of the NFC West, Week 10: Cardinals and Rams stumble, Seahawks now in last

The Seahawks’ continued slide this week was accompanied by losses across the division, with the top two teams losing. The lone winner was previously last-placed San Francisco, who jumped ahead of the Seahawks in the divisional standings thanks to a Monday Night Football blowout win against the reeling Rams. Let’s briefly go over what you should now about our divisional rivals’ Week 10 performances.

Cardinals’ B-team thumped in Cam’s return to Panthers

When Cam Newton scampered in for a first-quarter touchdown and proclaimed his return to the Arizona crowd and the television audience, you could tell things weren’t going to go well for the Cardinals. Without Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins, the offense was horrendous, managing just 169 yards. Two first-quarter turnovers by Colt McCoy spotted a 17-point lead to the Panthers, and they never looked back. If the Cardinals remain this unhealthy coming in to Seattle this week, consider the ‘Hawks favorites (although I’d still expect Colt McCoy to light us up out of pure cynicism).

Niners (briefly) return to 2019 form in domination of Rams

In addition to finding out that Colt McCoy is human, we are also discovering that the Rams offense (aside from Cooper Kupp, who had 11 catches for 122 yards against San Francisco) is human, too. For the second week in a row, Matthew Stafford threw multiple interceptions (including a pick-six), and the Rams simply could not get a foothold against the 49ers defense. For San Francisco, the run game was stout, and Jimmy Garoppolo avoided any major mistakes. While I doubt this success for the 49ers will be sustained, they showed what they are capable of when everything is clicking.

I think this result says a lot more about the Rams. They’ve clearly hit a wall, and I’m wondering if what the 49ers and Titans managed to do the last two weeks will lay out a blueprint for opposing defenses for the rest of the season. Not that the Seahawks would take advantage of it, of course.

Standings

Arizona Cardinals - 8-2 (3-0 DIV)

Los Angeles Rams - 7-3 (1-2 DIV)

San Francisco 49ers - 4-5 (1-3 DIV)

Seattle Seahawks - 3-6 (1-1 DIV)

Next Week

Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks

Los Angeles Rams on Bye Week

San Francisco 49ers at Jacksonville Jaguars