Standings:
Rams 3-0
49ers 1-2
Seahawks 1-2
Cardinals 0-3
Rams update:
The Rams were able to outlast the Chargers in the “Battle of LA”. Early on, the Rams built a 21-6 lead before the Chargers closed the lead to 28-20 shortly after halftime. The Rams ended up holding on for a 35-23 win. However, the bigger story here perhaps was the 2nd quarter injury to Marcus Peters. After having to be helped off the field and then carted back to the locker room. things looked bleak. Then in the 3rd quarter, Aqib Talib limped off the field as well shortly after forcing a fumble. The initial reports say that Peters suffered a strained calf, dodging a huge bullet that looked like a potential Achilles injury. Talib apparently tweaked his ankle in some regard, and is not considered serious. This Thursday, the Rams host the Vikings who just got blown out at home by the Buffalo Bills. This regardless should be a good test for the 3-0 Rams.
49ers update:
In the biggest test of the 49er rebuild to date, the 49ers rolled into KC facing a team that was on a historic pace offensively. The under manned 49er defense was not able to contain the Chiefs offense, and the score got out of hand fast. These 49ers however were not going to be steamrolled, and began to mount a comeback. Sadly, this ended in about as big of a disaster as possibly imaginable. As of this moment, it appears that Jimmy Garappolo has a torn ACL. The play where he was hurt, he was giving maximum effort to gain yards on a long 4th and goal situation. Despite going out of bounds, he inexplicably came back INTO bounds and dropped his shoulder on a Chiefs defensive back. This ended in JG being pancaked, and the resulting impact tore his ACL. The fortunate thing here, if anything really, is that JG should be able to recover by the time mini camps kick off in spring. Sadly, this is a good example of why QBs should not try to get overly physical no matter the circumstance. Andrew Luck is still recovering from trying to play QB like a fullback for the first couple of years of his career. In a late update, it appears Richard Sherman suffered a calf strain that will keep him out 2-3 weeks. Maybe he can talk to Marcus Peters about that?
Seahawks update:
Seattle was able to beat the hapless Dallas Cowboys in their home opener. From the start, trying to figure out what Dallas was trying to do on offense gave me an ice cream headache. Defensively, Seattle delivered a strong performance. Earl Thomas continued to build his post Seattle resume with two INTs. Offensively, the Seahawks had their way with whatever Dallas was attempting to do on defense. Dallas does not possess a good WR corps, and the offensive line is a mess at the moment. Defensively however, I’m sure that Dallas expected to have more success. Seattle is a tough match up for most teams at home, and Dallas did not have the horses to compete. Regardless, this was a win Seattle absolutely had to have.
Cardinals update:
Impressively, the Cardinals were able to build a 14-0 lead at home against the Bears. Early on, it looked as if the Cards were finally going to deliver on the confidence the front office had in the team. However, as the game wore on, the Cards began to fall apart. Sam Bradford began turning the ball over, and the defense collapsed under the weight of not having any sustained success of offense. The Bears were finally able to get a meager 2 point lead and that was enough to do the deed in the desert. The Cardinals put in Josh Rosen late in the 4th, but he was unable to move the offense into field goal range. At this point, it seems like the Cardinals on defense run a good unit. The offense though is an absolute train wreck. Maybe with Rosen playing they can get some momentum, maybe not.
Overall analysis:
At the moment, it looks as if the Rams could run away with the NFC West. Seattle would seem to be in the best position to challenge them, but the last time the Rams played the Seahawks – in Seattle with the NFCW and the Seahawks playoff lives on the line – the result was a 42-7 thrashing. The rematch in Seattle is coming up in 2 weeks. The 49ers are on life support, with DGDub’s favorite Big 10 QB of all time CJ Beathard now leading the charge. Arizona looks dead at 0-3, not really much else to say there. If the Rams pull out another win against the Vikings this Thursday, it could become a vice grip just 4 weeks into the season.
Week 4 NFCW Matchups
Vikings at Rams
49ers at Chargers
Seahawks at Cardinals
