Standings:
Los Angeles Rams: 8-1
Seattle Seahawks: 4-4
Arizona Cardinals: 2-6
San Francisco 49ers: 2-7
Rams Update: 45-35 Loss at New Orleans
The Rams undefeated streak finally came to an end on the road in New Orleans. Despite being down 35-14 going into halftime, the Rams were able to rip off 21 points to tie the game late in the 4th. Unfortunately for the Rams, a miscommunication on defense led to Michael Thomas putting the nail in the coffin on a long scoring play against Marcus Peters. Once again, Peters proved to be a liability but he is hardly the only culprit here. FS Lamarcus Joyner missed his fair share of tackles as well. The Saints were able to contain the Rams pass rush, which allowed Drew Brees to pick apart the defense at times during the game. Despite letting up 45 points, the Rams still ranked 10th in points allowed. Peters needs to play better but this unit is not the train wreck that the Saints or Chiefs are. The Rams host the Seahawks this Sunday and will look to bounce back after this disappointing loss.
Seahawks update: 25-17 loss hosting the LA Chargers.
Seattle was unable to channel it’s tremendous home field advantage into a win this Sunday. After winning back to back games, the Seahawks were unable to hold serve against one of the rising powerhouses in the AFC. Defensively, the Seahawks defense collapsed under the pass and run game of the LA Chargers. The Seahawks ground game maintained a decent yards per carry average, but was not consistently effective enough to challenge the Chargers defense. Russell Wilson threw a game killing pic 6 late, which made a late comeback difficult to pull off. With a trip to the Los Angeles Rams coming this week, both sides of the ball will again be tested. It’s fair to wonder how well all the new pieces can consistently play on both sides of the ball.
49ers Update: 34-3 victory hosting the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders
The 49ers made a case that they are not the worst team in football last Thursday night. That dishonor now singularly belongs to the Oakland Raiders. Against one of the worst defenses in football, the Raiders offense looked as if they had just run into the 85 Bears. They allowed vagabond QB Nick Mullins to look like a right handed Steve Young. It’s tough to really glean much from this game. The Raiders are an unmitigated disaster of a team who has clearly thrown the towel in on the season. Nick Mullens however has put an end to CJ Beathard’s assault on the record books of ineptitude, as he will start next week’s contest. The 49ers are well known for squandering top 5 picks with pointless late season heroics, but whether or not Mullins provides a spark against actual NFL competition has yet to be seen. The 49ers host the New York Giants for Monday Night football this week, in what will likely be one of the lowest rated prime time games of the year. Thankfully, those NFL schedule makers are sure to remind the nation just how shitty the Cowboys and Giants are with as many prime time games as they can get away with giving them.
Cardinals Update:
The Cardinals were on bye this week, no doubt celebrating their 7th straight win against the 49ers with a certain East Mesa resident. The Cardinals play the Chiefs this Sunday, which has a real chance to be worse than the Denver game. SKA Cardinals fans no doubt will be sheltering in place for this one.
Overall analysis:
While the Rams fell at one of the toughest home venues in all of football, they managed to make a game of things late and not get totally blown off the field. They should be well motivated to play the Seahawks this upcoming week. Seahawks guard DJ Fluker made some off the cuff remarks about the Rams defense last time they played, which Aaron Donald is well aware of. Regardless, it should be a good battle in LA as the Seahawks are fighting for their lives while the Rams are looking to bounce back. The Cardinals and 49ers are all but mathematically eliminated from contention at this point in the year. Steve Wilks is likely fighting for his professional career as a HC and Kyle Shanahan also has something to prove down the stretch.
Week 9 NFCW Matchups
Seattle Seahawks AT Los Angeles Rams
New York Giants AT San Francisco 49ers
Arizona Cardinals AT Kansas City Chiefs
Justin
I’m gay.