You couldn’t have asked for a better week if you’re a 49ers fan. The Seahawks bumped the Rams, the Cardinals did, well, whatever it is the Cardinals do at this time of the season, and the 49ers beat the Indianapolis Colts. Yes, the 49ers’ defense showed its vulnerabilities. But if you have a quarterback who is going to throw five touchdown passes, something that hasn’t happened since the Joe Montana days (or Steve Young days if you count the Super Bowl), you don’t need your defense to be elite.
The
Seahawks beat the Colts by two points in Seattle. The 49ers blew the Colts out late on the road. Matchups do matter, bu49ers’ 49ers offense is definitely clicking and getting hot at the right time. As long as the defense can slow their opponents down and the offense can do what it did Monday night, the 49ers are going to be a team no one wants to play in the postseason.
The rest of the West is shaping up for the rumble that is the final game of the season. San Francisco vs. Seattle, winner takes the West.
Speaking of Seattle….
Seattle Seahawks (12-3)/Los Angeles Rams (11-4)
What is there to say about this game that hasn’t already been said? 49ers fans became Seahawks fans for a couple of hours and got the best possible scenario they could have asked for. The Rams had this thing wrapped up with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. Sam Darnold just threw an interception to Kobie Turner; the Rams offense was up by 16 and looking decent. The once-praised Seattle defense already had 30 points run up on them. This was over, right?
Wrong answer.
Of course, it’s not a Seattle game without Seattle luck, and that came on another touchdown’s two-point try to tie things up:
As a 49ers fan, I am all too familiar with things like this. Of course, the talk revolved around whether it was a forward pass or not (it wasn’t), and if it wasn’t, why was it blown dead?
The answer is a bit complicated. The refs screwed it up by blowing it dead too early, but it was a backwards pass. Now, all that said, that’s pretty lucky for Seattle to get a two-point try made successful due to a backwards pass being picked up.
The Rams weren’t done and managed another touchdown on the Seahawks, giving Sam Darnold and company one last drive. Not one to take this thing into overtime, Darnold marched down the field, got the touchdown, and then threw this dart:
Game over. Nothing is better than seeing things go the 49ers’ way. 38-37 Seahawks, and we can all go back to hating them.
The Rams have now lost two divisional games. Along with Thursday’s loss was their home game against the 49ers. As you know, the 49ers and Seahawks will settle all of this in the final week of the NFL regular season. I don’t see how this isn’t flexed, even if the 49ers get three prime-time games in a row.
Some still think the Rams are the NFC’s Super Bowl team. Take from that what you will.
Arizona Cardinals (3-12)
Oh yeah, the Cardinals played too! The eliminated Cardinals hosted the also eliminated Atlanta Falcons. It started like many Cardinals games have: a lead. In this case, a 10-point lead. And the touchdown in this lead was just obnoxious. Check out this Michael Wilson catch:
That’s about all I can write about on this. The Falcons tied things up at 16-16 before halftime. That’s not to say the Cardinals didn’t have a chance to retake the lead. They did it with two seconds left in the half. Unfortunately, Cardinals kicker Chad Ryland hit the left upright in a weak *doink* that left the game tied at half.
The Falcons took the lead with a field goal in the second half, and Ryland managed to miss another kick. That was pretty much it for the Cardinals and this game, as the Falcons started clicking and cranking the score up. Things ended 26-19. Ryland managed to make another kick before his day ended.
Arizona sits at the sixth draft pick in the 2025 NFL draft. If you’re a 49ers fan, you’d want the Cardinals to win a few games now that they are out of the postseason, so their draft positioning worsens.
While Brissett hasn’t been awful, it’s clear that a quarterback might be on the Cardinals’ radar in that draft, so the further back they can go, the better.
Onto Week 17
Two more games remain. Both the 49ers and the Seahawks have one more challenger before they can settle things from Week 1.
The Seahawks will travel to face the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers managed to beat the Rams 31-28 a couple of weeks ago and are trying to get a few wins to take the NFC South. Unlike the Seahawks, their postseason ticket hasn’t been punched. So there might be a bit more from the Panthers this week.
The 49ers’ issues are with the Chicago Bears. The Bears just got done going toe-to-toe with the Green Bay Packers. The game ended with Bears quarterback Caleb Williams throwing what may be the catch of the year. That game is no gimmie. If the 49ers want to get that No. 1 Seed, they have to do pretty much what they did Monday night against the Colts.
The Bears have an advantage of rest in this game, also. They played on Saturday in Chicago. The 49ers had to travel to Indianapolis on Monday and won’t be back in California until early Tuesday morning. That’s a vast disadvantage handed out by the schedule makers.
The Rams will be traveling to face the Atlanta Falcons. That should be a pretty simple day for the Rams. The Falcons are 3-7 and not nearly as strong as they were in the Sunday Night game earlier in the season.
The Cardinals will travel to face the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals are 5-10 and have their own set of issues. As I said earlier, I hope for a Cardinals win. It’s time for them to go back in the draft.
Two more games to go.
1st: Seattle Seahawks; Next: at Carolina Panthers
2nd: Los Angeles Rams; Next: at Atlanta Falcons
3rd: San Francisco 49ers; Next: vs Chicago Bears (Sunday Night Football)
4th: Arizona Cardinals ELIMINATED: Next: at Cincinnati Bengals
