There is still one more game on the Week 16 schedule as of Monday morning but all four teams in the NFC West have already played. As we enter the final week of the regular season, there was another change at the top of the division. The San Francisco 49ers are now on top of the division after a win over the Los Angeles Rams and a loss by the Seattle Seahawks to the Arizona Cardinals.
Here is what the division now looks like.
- 49ers, 12-3
- Seahawks, 11-4
- Rams, 8-7
- Cardinals, 5-9-1
The division title comes down to just one game. The Seahawks and 49ers play in Week 17 to determine who wins the West. The game got moved to the Sunday night slot on national television. If Seattle wins, they win the division on a head-to-head tiebreaker, as they will have gone 2-0 against the 49ers. If San Francisco wins, they will be 13-3 and the Seahawks 11-5.
San Francisco will face the Seahawks on the road but the Seahawks are shorthanded. They went without four starters against the Cardinals in Week 16 and things got worse for them. Running backs Chris Carson and C.J. Prosise are out the rest of the season, joining Rashaad Penny. Left tackle Duane Brown needs knee surgery and is probably out the rest of the season, including the postseason.
So what happened in Week 16?
The 49ers got a game-winning 33-yard field goal from Robbie Gould as time expired for a 34-31 win over the Los Angeles Rams. L.A. lost after having a 21-10 lead and then taking a 28-24 lead in the fourth quarter. They were eliminated from the postseason.
The Seahawks were upset by the Arizona Cardinals at home. They lost 27-13 on Sunday. Kenyan Drake rushed for 166 yards and two touchdowns, the Cardinals didn’t turn the ball over and Russell Wilson was sacked five times. It was the fourth time in five years the Seahawks have lost to the Cardinals at CenturyLink Field.
We know the 49ers and Seahawks face one another in Week 17.
As for the Cardinals and the Rams, they also close out the season facing each other. The Rams host the Cardinals and will try to clinch a winning season, while the Cardinals hope to close the season out with three wins in a row. They might have to do that without rookie quarterback Kyler Murray, as he left the game on Sunday against the Seahawks with a hamstring injury in the third quarter.
If he can’t go, Brett Hundley will start. The Cardinals have not beaten the Rams since Sean McVay took over as coach and have scored fewer points in five games than the Rams average each game against them.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.
Ep. 252:
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Ep. 251:
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