Heading into Week 10, the division is starting to become more settled. We’re starting to find out who might be for real and who is going to be on the outside looking in when playoff time rolls around. Here’s a look at the NFC West’s matchups in Week 10:
San Francisco 49ers at New Orleans Saints, Sunday 1PM EST
The San Francisco 49ers had one of their more embarrassing offensive performances this past Sunday against the St. Louis Rams. The 49ers’ offensive line gave up eight sacks to a Rams team that came into that game with a team total of six sacks all season. The only positive for the 49ers in that game was that their defense continued to hold up despite many key players still being suspended or injured.
Coming off such a heartbreaking loss in the final seconds of this game, the 49ers will be asked to go into the Superdome in New Orleans and take on a Saints team that is starting to get hot. The key for the 49ers in this game is going to be slowing down Drew Brees and Jimmy Graham. If Patrick Willis misses this game and the 49ers are forced to cover Graham with rookie Chris Borland or Michael Wilhoite, it could be a long day for the San Francisco defense. Also, the 49ers need to get pressure on Brees so he can’t sit in the pocket and pick apart the secondary. At 4-4, the 49ers are a desperate team. In the NFL, desperation is a very hard thing to play against. Also, this 49ers team has played the Saints very tough in their recent matchups. Because of the desperation factor, I think the 49ers win this game by a field goal.
New York Giants at Seattle Seahawks, Sunday 4:25PM EST
In this matchup, neither team comes into this game on much of a hot streak. The New York Giants got embarrassed on Monday Night Football by the Indianapolis Colts while the Seattle Seahawks almost blew their big second half lead against the lowly Oakland Raiders. The previous two games before their game against Oakland have been losses as well. With a Giants team lacking experience and overall talent, the Seahawks will be looking to correct a lot of things during this game.
The key matchup in this game will be the Seattle secondary against Eli Manning. Manning is bound to throw an interception or two, but he is also capable of throwing four touchdowns in the same game. The types of receivers that give the Seahawks’ secondary the most trouble are smaller, fast receivers with solid hands. Giants receiver Odell Beckham is exactly that. He’s the best playmaker the Giants have right now on offense and Manning will certainly be throwing in his direction often.
Another key matchup for the Seahawks is the defensive line against the young and banged up offensive line of the Giants. This is a good game for the Seahawks’ pass rush to get on a hot streak. If the Seahawks’ pass rushers can get pressure on Manning, the secondary will be able to get multiple interceptions. This is the scenario I expect to be playing out come Sunday. The Seahawks will win this game by a touchdown.
St. Louis Rams at Arizona Cardinals, Sunday 4:25PM EST
So far this season the St. Louis Rams have pulled off the upset against both the Seahawks and the 49ers. Now it’s the Arizona Cardinals’ turn. After seemingly curing all the problems the Rams’ pass rush was having so far this season, this is one of the best defensive lines in the NFL. Rookie Aaron Donald is about as much of a disruptive force as any other defensive player not named J.J. Watt. Robert Quinn is also beginning to look like the Robert Quinn we’ve all come to know from his first few years in the league. If the Cardinals’ offensive line can’t contain the Rams on the line, Carson Palmer will be running for his life all game.
However, if the Cardinals can contain the Rams’ defensive line, the Rams secondary is certainly susceptible to getting picked apart. With the receiving corps of Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, and rookie John Brown, the Rams will need their secondary to really step up.
On the other side of the ball, the Rams’ Austin Davis will be facing more blitzes than he’s experienced so far this year. Davis showed everyone last game that when the pressure starts to surround him in the pocket or if it flushes him out of the pocket, he gets flustered easily and is prone to making bad throws. Undoubtedly the Cardinals will focus on getting to Davis and will most likely be successful. The Rams are very good at game planning intradivision rivals, but I don’t think they win this game. The Cardinals will learn from the mistakes of the Seahawks and 49ers and not underestimate the Rams. Arizona will win this by ten points.