Niners Nation
So, the San Francisco 49ers had a bye. Regardless of what happened, their playoff positioning would improve. How better? Well, just one spot thanks to the Chicago Bears/Green Bay Packers game. Beyond that, nothing much. And since the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks both won, and looked good doing it.
The 49ers will return from the bye down a game in the standings and facing what should be a simple opponent. Meanwhile, the Rams and Seahawks will both have games that could result in losses. At least, I would say that if the Colts’ starting quarterback wasn’t knocked out for the season. We’ll get to that.
The Cardinals forgot they were the Cardinals for most of the first quarter, getting a 7-0 lead quickly. After that, they remembered who they were, and the Rams proceeded to shove the ball down their collective throats.
The Cardinals managed a single field goal in the second quarter, and that was it for their offense until garbage time rolled around. The Rams, on the other hand, had only one quarter in which they did not score in double digits.
In other words, this was an absolute beatdown. Matthew Stafford had three touchdowns in a day, completing 70 percent of his passes. He had three touchdowns, two to Puka Nacua and one to Colby Parkinson.
The Rams’ rushing attack was as much of a contributor; running back Blake Corum averaged 10.7 yards per carry on 12 carries for 128 yards. Most of which came from this scamper.
The Cardinals can play the 49ers hard, sometimes. They can’t play the Rams with near the effort, apparently. Final score: 45-17
The Seahawks did something similar to what the Rams did in their game against the Atlanta Falcons, but they decided to play with our emotions early on. The entire first half saw two field goals for each team. The second one for Seattle came at the end of the first half.
So for one half of football, there was a very slim possibility the Falcons could maybe pull this one out against all odds. They even notched an interception. Sure, the field goal on that series was blocked, but it looked like they had a chance.
Of course, the third quarter began. That’s when this happened:
And that’s the point, you start wondering what cheesy Christmas movie is on TV. In the next series, the Falcons fumble, and the Seahawks score another touchdown. Once you get to the fourth quarter, you probably wouldn’t believe how close this was in the first half.
The Falcons only managed a third field goal before the game ended. Final score 37-9. That is a much, much different second half. Fumbles, two interceptions, Atlanta just fell apart once they came back from the locker room.
Regardless, this puts the Seahawks and Rams at 10 wins apiece. It also has little difference in NFC West standings. Could the Rams lose that...
