So, the San Francisco 49ers had a bye. Regardless of what happened, their playoff positioning would improve. How better? Well, just one spot thanks to the Chicago Bears/Green Bay Packers game. Beyond that, nothing much. And since the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks both won, and looked good doing it.
The 49ers will return from the bye down a game in the standings and facing what should be a simple opponent. Meanwhile, the Rams and Seahawks will both have games that could result in losses. At
least, I would say that if the Colts’ starting quarterback wasn’t knocked out for the season. We’ll get to that.
Los Angeles Rams (10-3)/Arizona Cardinals (3-10)
The Cardinals forgot they were the Cardinals for most of the first quarter, getting a 7-0 lead quickly. After that, they remembered who they were, and the Rams proceeded to shove the ball down their collective throats.
The Cardinals managed a single field goal in the second quarter, and that was it for their offense until garbage time rolled around. The Rams, on the other hand, had only one quarter in which they did not score in double digits.
In other words, this was an absolute beatdown. Matthew Stafford had three touchdowns in a day, completing 70 percent of his passes. He had three touchdowns, two to Puka Nacua and one to Colby Parkinson.
The Rams’ rushing attack was as much of a contributor; running back Blake Corum averaged 10.7 yards per carry on 12 carries for 128 yards. Most of which came from this scamper.
The Cardinals can play the 49ers hard, sometimes. They can’t play the Rams with near the effort, apparently. Final score: 45-17
Seattle Seahawks (10-3)
The Seahawks did something similar to what the Rams did in their game against the Atlanta Falcons, but they decided to play with our emotions early on. The entire first half saw two field goals for each team. The second one for Seattle came at the end of the first half.
So for one half of football, there was a very slim possibility the Falcons could maybe pull this one out against all odds. They even notched an interception. Sure, the field goal on that series was blocked, but it looked like they had a chance.
Of course, the third quarter began. That’s when this happened:
And that’s the point, you start wondering what cheesy Christmas movie is on TV. In the next series, the Falcons fumble, and the Seahawks score another touchdown. Once you get to the fourth quarter, you probably wouldn’t believe how close this was in the first half.
The Falcons only managed a third field goal before the game ended. Final score 37-9. That is a much, much different second half. Fumbles, two interceptions, Atlanta just fell apart once they came back from the locker room.
Regardless, this puts the Seahawks and Rams at 10 wins apiece. It also has little difference in NFC West standings. Could the Rams lose that spot this week to the Seahawks? That’s probably not going to happen.
Onto Week 15
People wonder why Seattle often gets the “Luckiest team in the league” moniker. Look no further than Week 15. They will host the Indianapolis Colts. That could have been a good game. That could have the makings of a huge surprise. The Colts could win that game.
Except it isn’t happening. The quarterback for the Colts, Daniel Jones, is out for the season after suffering a torn Achilles tendon against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Colts’ backup quarterback is also injured. The Seahawks get to host an offense that has not scored less than 20 points all season—except the person running that offense is injured, and there isn’t someone to step up either. So one of the best defenses in the league gets what will become one of the league’s worst offenses.
That is Seattle Seahawks luck. They get the Panthers next week, unless something wacky happens there, too.
The Rams get the Detroit Lions in another game that the Lions could win. Don’t get your hopes up, but we’re running out of teams here. The Rams’ remaining schedule is the Seahawks, Lions, Falcons, and another Cardinals game. There are two teams there that can beat them. Detroit, don’t let us down.
The Cardinals will host the Houston Texans. We all should know how this will go. Arizona is bad, and the Texans are the other best defense in the league.
As for the 49ers? They will be traveling to face the Tennessee Titans. This game has the markings of a trap written all over it. The Titans managed to beat the Cleveland Browns in Week 14, 31-29, but that’s only one of their two wins. The other came against the Cardinals before they really took a nose dive. The 49ers should win this one handily, but we know how these games sometimes can go.
1st: Los Angeles Rams; Next: vs Detroit Lions
2nd: Seattle Seahawks; Next: vs Indianapolis Colts
3rd: San Francisco 49ers; Next: at Teneesee Titans
4th: Arizona Cardinals ELIMINATED: Next: at Houston Texans
