Niners Nation
Not much change in the NFC West this week. The key players, the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, and Seattle Seahawks, all won. The Cardinals lost again. There’s not much left on the schedule for the Rams. So, unless they go into a massive skid, they probably can win the West. It’s not certain, but there’s not much hope, especially with that team we saw on Sunday night.
The 49ers took care of business against a Carolina Panthers team whose only win against a team above .500 was the Green Bay Packers, and it showed. If Brock Purdy wasn’t gifting the Panthers those three interceptions, it would be a very different game.
As for the 49ers, that type of performance against the Rams or Philadelphia Eagles will get them blown out. While a win is a win, three interceptions are not anything you want on the card when there’s little room for error with this roster.
Regardless, the 49ers are keeping pace for a playoff spot, and that win is huge for their probability of making the playoffs. Simply getting a Wild Card berth after all the injuries is a positive, and it’s great for the younger players to get some experience.
Three out of four teams in the NFC West may be going to the playoffs, too.
Yes, I will give it to the Rams that they are the team to beat in the NFC, even if they were gifted with a quarterback injury in their 34-7 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, someone who many thought might be in the MVP conversation, left the game at halftime. The thing is, the game was 31-7 at halftime, so the damage was already done.
The Buccaneers couldn’t get anything going. And didn’t get their measly seven points until five minutes left in the half. Final score: 34-7 and a statement. Give it to the Rams; they played well, and the Buccaneers, until Sunday, were a good team. Matthew Stafford continued to put a strong season together, throwing three touchdowns, no interceptions, and taking a single sack.
Meanwhile, Mayfield had notched two interceptions until his untimely injury benching for Teddy Bridgewater.
The Rams have some divisional games and the Detroit Lions left on their schedule. While I don’t think they are unbeatable, they certainly are the team to beat. A couple of games dropped IS possible, but only a couple; meanwhile, the 49ers would need to run the table to win the NFC West crown.
I told you the Tennessee Titans would not be the ones to hand us a loss. If you look at the final score, you may think they had a chance and let us down. The truth is, this was going bad from the start, and garbage time + prevent defense can do some annoying things at the end of a game.
By the end of the third quarter, it was 30-10, and...
