The NFC West has one win in the conference against a team outside of the division
Often propped as the NFL’s best division during the 2010s, the NFC West could be in danger of replacing the NFC South and AFC South as the league’s worst. And that’s not bad news for the Los Angeles Rams.
When the Rams (1-4 vs NFC, 1-1 vs NFC West) beat the Las Vegas Raiders (one of the worst teams in the AFC) in Week 7, it was only their second win of the season and their first outside of the NFC West.
When the Seattle Seahawks (1-3 NFC, 0-1 NFC West) beat the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, it was Seattle’s first win over any team in the NFC. It was the first win by ANY team in the NFC West against an NFC team that isn’t in the NFC West.
The NFC West is now 1-9 against non-NFC West teams in the NFC.
The San Francisco 49ers (1-3 NFC, 1-2 NFC West), now 3-4 after losing by double digits to the Kansas City Chiefs, are 1-3 against the NFC with their only win coming against the Seahawks.
And the Arizona Cardinals (2-3 NFC, 2-0 NFC West), as usual, are 2-4. The Cardinals started 1-1 coming off of a 41-10 blowout win over the Rams. We thought that meant the Cardinals were good. We should have said that it was only because the NFC West is bad; the Cardinals have had one of the worst offenses in the league since beating the Rams and they will play the Chargers on Monday night. Therefore, the Cardinals won’t be getting a win against an NFC team this week either.
Is this now the “AFC South”?
The four teams in the NFC North are 5-1, 5-1, 5-2, and 4-2.
The only losing team in the NFC East is the 2-5 Giants.
Though the worst team in the conference is the Panthers, the NFC South has two winning teams in the 4-2 Bucs and 4-3 Falcons.
But the NFC West has only one winning team, the 4-3 Seahawks, and three losing teams. The only other division with three losing teams is the AFC East, but the 5-2 Bills are contenders for the number one seed in the AFC. (The Seahawks and Bills play each other in Week 8.)
What does it mean for the Rams?
Only one loss worse than Seattle, the Rams could literally be in first place in the NFC West in a couple of weeks if they just win their next two games.
With two games in five days, the Rams played it safe with Cooper Kupp today. He’ll be on the field Thursday night, and with another 49ers loss and a wide open NFC West, Los Angeles’s season is far from done.
— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) October 20, 2024
First it would mean that the Rams should beat the Vikings this Thursday. Not easy, but not impossible with Minnesota having to travel across the country on a short week after losing to the Lions. Sean McVay knows Kevin O’Connell, and vice versa.
Then the Rams play the Seahawks in Week 9.
If the Rams win their next two games, they’ll be 4-4 with a 3-3 record in the NFC and a 2-1 record in the NFC West.
If the Seahawks lose to the Bills, not crazy to assume could happen, and then lose to the Rams, Seattle would be just 4-5. The Rams often beat the Seahawks.
The 49ers have been losing players like Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey and Brock Purdy was terrible on Sunday. San Francisco plays the Cowboys, then has a bye week, then goes to Tampa Bay, hosts the Seahawks, and has back to back road games in Green Bay and Buffalo. Will the Niners recover with their injuries and that schedule?
Hindsight is always 20/20, but the NFC West was there to be won this year.
— Johnny Venerable (@JohnnyVenerable) October 20, 2024
The Cardinals have one of the worst defenses in the NFL, they’ll need to sweep their next four games (Chargers, Dolphins, Bears, Jets) to be considered a threat given their long history of not being a threat.
Is the NFC West the worst division in football?
The Rams should hope so.
