Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
In a trip around the NFC West, Cardinals fans can find out some news and stories about the 49ers from the last week.
An offseason tradition we have had for years on this site is to, on Sundays, take a look around the NFC West to see what has been going on with the Arizona Cardinals’ division rivals.
What has been going on for the San Francisco 49ers since their Super Bowl loss?
Below are some stories from the last week for Cardinals fans to know about.
The Rams lead the way with the No. 3 rookie class.
The Arizona Cardinals had a solid rookie class in 2023, led by right tackle Paris Johnson, who played every snap. According to recent team rookie class rankings, they had a top-10 class.
However, three teams in the NFC West had top-10 rookie classes.
Here is where all four NFC West teams ranked.
The Niners move on from Wilks after only one season.
The San Francisco 49ers are looking for another defensive coordinator. Head coach Kyler Shanahan announced in a conference call that defensive coordinator Steve Wilks will not be returning in 2024.
Wilks was the Niners’ defensive coordinator for one season.
Wilks replaced DeMeco Ryans, who after two seasons as DC for San Francisco was hired to be the head coach of the Houston Texans.
The Niners’ two previous defensive coordinators — Ryans and Robert Saleh — landed head coaching jobs.
Wilks was hoping to do the same.
The 49ers were eighth in the league in total defense (303.9 ypg), third in rush defense (89.7 ypg) and third in scoring defense (17.5 ppg).
However, things fell apart defensively starting with their last game against the Arizona Cardinals.
Beginning with the game against Arizona in Week 15, they allowed 136.4 rushing yards per game in seven games including the postseason and 149.3 rushing yards per game in the postseason.
They allowed 24.2 points in their final seven games including the postseason.
As good as they were for three quarters of the regular season defensively, they were pretty pedestrian in the postseason.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
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The 49ers are the favorites while the rest of the NFC West are long shots.
The Kansas City Chiefs were crowned Super Bowl champions on Sunday with their 25-22 overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers. That meant on Monday betting odds for Super Bowl LIX would be available.
The Arizona Cardinals are long shots but, unlike a year ago, do not have the longest odds in the league.
What are the odds of the teams in the NFC West?
Let’s have a look, according to odds from BetMGM Sportsbook.
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Macdonald becomes the youngest head coach in the NFL age 36 years old. He gets a six-year contract to coach Seattle.
The NFC West has a new head coach. The Seattle Seahawks announced the hiring of Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald as their new head coach, replacing Pete Carroll.
Macdonald becomes the youngest head coach in the NFL at 36 years old. He gets a six-year contract.
Macdonald had been the Ravens’ defensive coordinator for the last two seasons.
Carroll had been the head coach since 2010. He moves into an advisory role with the team.
With the hiring of Macdonald, the NFC West now has two head coaches under 40 years old. Kyle Shanahan of the 49ers is 44, Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon is 41, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay is 38 and Macdonald is 36.
We will see what the Seahawks do roster-wise moving forward this offseason.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
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The 49ers are in the Super Bowl for the third time since divisional realignment. It is the ninth time a team in the NFC west made it.
The NFC West has been one of the more competitive divisions for some time. Some great teams have come out of the division. Since realignment in 2002, every team in the NFC West has made it to the Super Bowl at least once.
With the San Francisco 49ers beating the Detroit Lions 34-31 in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday to move on to Super Bowl LVIII, it marks the ninth time since realignment that an NFC West team represents the NFC in the Super Bowl.
Let’s look back at previous results.
McCaffrey was honored by the PFWA after leading the NFL in rushing yards, scrimmage yards and total touchdowns.
The Arizona Cardinals saw twice just how good San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey was this season. In two games against the Cardinals, he rushed for 221 yards and four touchdowns and caught 12 passes for 143 yards and three touchdowns.
McCaffrey was named by the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA) as the league’s Offensive Player of the Year for 2023.
McCaffrey led the NFL with 1,459 rushing yards this past season, averaging 5.4 yards per attempt and scoring 14 touchdowns.
He also caught 67 passes for 564 yards and seven touchdowns.
His 21 total touchdowns led the NFL. His 1,459 rushing yards led the NFL. His 2,023 total yards from scrimmage led the NFL.
McCaffrey’s production is a big reason why the 49ers are in the NFC Championship Game this weekend. He certainly was the main reason why the 49ers beat the Cardinals twice in 2023.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
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After three seasons as the Rams’ defensive coordinator, Raheem Morris is now going to be head coach for the Atlanta Falcons.
The Arizona Cardinals will face a new Los Angeles Rams defense in 2024. The Atlanta Falcons have hired Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris to be their new head coach.
Morris used to be an assistant for the Falcons and coached both offense and defense at different times.
He was the Rams’ defensive coordinator for the last three seasons.
The Rams will receive draft compensation for the hiring. Morris is a Black man and, like the San Francisco 49ers with their last two defensive coordinators, will get an extra compensatory third-round pick the next two years because a minority coach on their staff was hired by another team to be head coach.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
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The 49ers will host the winner of the Buccaneers-Lions game in the NFC Championship Game.
The Green Bay Packers almost upset the San Francisco 49ers. They took a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter but, despite the Niners’ 0-30 record under head coach Kyle Shanahan in games trailing by five or more points, they came away victorious and move on to the NFC Championship Game with a 24-21 win.
Jake Moody, who had missed an earlier field goal, made a 52-yard kick to start the fourth quarter and Christian McCaffrey scored for the second time of the game with a six-yard run to give the 49ers a 24-21 lead with 1:07 to go.
Brock Purdy led his first fourth-quarter comeback and first game-winning drive of this season, and linebacker Dre Greenlaw picked off Packers quarterback Jordan Love to seal the win.
Love threw two interceptions in the game. McCaffrey rushed for 98 yards and two scores and added another 30 yards on seven receptions.
Purdy had 252 passing yards and a touchdown, and he did not turn the ball over. Receiver Deebo Samuel injured his shoulder in the win and his status for the conference title game is uncertain for now.
For Green Bay, Aaron Jones rushed for 108 yards on 18 carries.
The Niners will host the winner of the Lions-Buccaneers game next weekend.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
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Carroll went 18-9-1 against the Cardinals and had a winning record against all five Cardinals coaches they have had in last 14 years.
The Arizona Cardinals will face a Seattle Seahawks team in 2024 with new leadership. After 14 seasons as head coach, Seattle is replacing Pete Carroll, although Carroll will move into some sort of advisory role within the organization.
Carroll led the Seahawks to 10 playoff appearances, five division titles, two Super Bowls and one championship.
His Seahawks squads also dominated the Cardinals.
The Cardinals had five head coaches in the 14 seasons Carroll led Seattle. Carroll had a winning record against all of them.
Overall, he was 18-9-1 against Arizona.
He took over a Seahawks team that was four games under .500 against the Cardinals and, after 14 years, Seattle leads the all-time series 27-22-1. Eighteen of Seattle’s wins over the Cardinals belong to Carroll.
We will see if this leads to the Cardinals turning things around against the Seahawks in the years to come.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
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