The Seattle Seahawks saw their 12-game winning streak come to an untidy end against the Washington Commanders, but the day wasn’t a complete bust.
Yes, the San Francisco 49ers took care of business in a surprisingly competitive 36-30 shootout over the Arizona Cardinals, but the Seahawks (and 49ers, I guess) benefited from a remarkable, if not fortuitous comeback win by the Denver Broncos over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football. Down 16-0 at halftime, the Broncos stormed back to get a 30-26
victory at home, but it probably shouldn’t have even happened.
Josh Wallace made an unbelievable interception on what looked like a Bo Nix throwaway in the final two minutes. Wallace was instead called for defensive pass interference, which looks a hell of a lot more like a no-call or OPI by Broncos receiver Pat Bryant.
Sean Payton, Sean McVay, and a controversial pass interference decision? We’ve seen that story before. This time it went in Payton’s favor, and after another penalty on the Rams, they drained more clock and got the winning score on a Bo Nix sneak.
Matthew Stafford threw a pick-six and a game-sealing interception to Talanoa Hufanga in an utterly absurd fourth quarter. He’s now the all-time leader in pick-sixes, surpassing Brett Favre.
It’s the first 16-point comeback the Rams have been on the wrong end of since, well, you know…
NFC West standings
- San Francisco 49ers (3-0, 2-0 NFCW)
- Seattle Seahawks (2-1, 0-0 NFCW)
- Los Angeles Rams (1-2, 0-1 NFCW)
- Arizona Cardinals (1-2, 0-2 NFCW)
NFC West Week 4 schedule
- San Francisco 49ers vs. Denver Broncos
- Seattle Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Chargers
- Los Angeles Rams at Philadelphia Eagles
- Arizona Cardinals at New York Giants
This was arguably a blown opportunity by Seattle to get some early separation on the Rams, but there’s still a chance to get a two-game lead next week with a win over the Chargers and an Eagles win over LA. But for the moment, the 49ers are the team to beat in the NFC West and look almost unstoppable on offense no matter how many injuries they endure.
