NFC West Week 2 Preview
NFC West Week 2 Schedule
- Sunday, September 20th @ 10AM (Fox): 49ers @ Jets
- Sunday, September 20th @ 10AM (Fox): Rams @ Eagles
- Sunday, September 20th @ 1:05PM (Fox): Washington Football Team @ Cardinals
- Sunday, September 20th @ 5:20PM (NBC): Patriots @ Seahawks
Current NFC West Standings
- Cardinals, Rams, Seahawks: 1-0
- 49ers: 0-1
General Week 2 Overlook:
It was a great Week One for all NFC West teams, with the exception of the reigning NFC champions. For the first time in a long time, the 49ers find themselves in the dungeon of the division.
Looking ahead to Week 2, each team within the division has a favorable matchup. Las Vegas does not have any NFC West team listed as the underdog.
The 49ers are 7 point favorites
The Rams are a pick’em
The Cardinals are 6.5 point favorites
The Seahawks are 4 point favorites.
Let’s examine each matchup.
San Francisco 49ers (0-1) @ New York Jets 0-1
2020 Team Stats (49ers on left side - Jets on right side):
- Points Scored: 20 - 17
- Passing Yards: 243 - 202
- Rushing Yards: 123 - 52
- Points Allowed: 24 - 27
- Passing Yards Allowed: 224 - 306
- Rushing Yards Allowed: 180 - 98
Story line: How will the reigning NFC champions recover from their embarrassing loss to the Cardinals?
It was a rough start to the season for the 49ers, but they have a golden opportunity to get back on track against the Jets. Completely dismantling the Jets would be the first step toward getting that disgusting taste the Cardinals left in the organization's mouth out.
Jimmy Garoppolo needs to have a bounce-back performance, and that may be challenging with George Kittle potentially sidelined with a knee sprain. Luckily for Garoppolo, the Jets defense allowed 300 passing yards to Josh Allen last week. If Allen could do it, Garoppolo can as well.
In addition to Garoppolo, the defense needs to have a bounce back performance. I expect it will. Luckily for the 49ers, the Jets offense doesn’t feature the defense’s Achilles' heel, which is a mobile quarterback. I’m expecting a huge performance from the defensive line, and for them to play so well that you can’t even tell Richard Sherman is on IR.
Bonus story line: Jets’ head coach Adam Gase has confirmed that Frank Gore will start on Sunday, in the wake of Le’Veon Bell’s injury.
Los Angeles Rams (1-0) @ Philadelphia Eagles (0-1)
2020 Team Stats (Rams on left side - Eagles on right side)
- Points Scored: 20 - 17
- Passing Yards: 275 - 270
- Rushing Yards: 153 - 57
- Points Allowed: 17 - 27
- Passing Yards Allowed: 266 - 178
- Rushing Yards Allowed: 136 - 80
Story line: Can the Rams make it two in a row against NFC East teams?
Last week when analyzing the Cowboys and Rams game, I wrote about how the team with the more improved defense would win. The Rams proved that to be true. Give them credit for holding one of the best offenses from 2019 to only 17 points.
It’s too early in the season to tell if the Rams are back for good, but on paper they have an extremely talented team. It was just 19 months ago that they were playing in the Super Bowl, and they still have much of their core intact. Without a doubt, they will be competing for a playoff spot.
So the hopeful Rams are headed to Philadelphia to play the Eagles, who had arguably an even more pathetic loss than the 49ers. The Eagles won their division in 2019, and opened up their season by blowing a 17-point lead to the Washington Football Team, who had a 3-13 record last year. Yikes.
The Eagles are hungry for a win, but it won’t be easy going against the revamped ground game of the Rams. With Todd Gurley out of the picture, the Rams have a new running back by committee approach, which did wonders in their game against the Cowboys.
Las Vegas has this game as a pick ‘em, and it truly does feel like it could go either way.
The Washington Football Team (1-0) @ Arizona Cardinals (1-0)
2020 Team Stats (WAS on left side - Cardinals on right side)
- Points Scored: 27 - 24
- Passing Yards: 178 - 230
- Rushing Yards: 80 - 180
- Points Allowed: 17 - 20
- Passing Yards Allowed: 266 - 178
- Rushing Yards Allowed: 57 - 123
Story line: Which 2019 First-Round Quarterback will lead his team to a 2-0 record?
Kyler Murray led the Cardinals to a 10-point comeback win against the 49ers, while Dwayne Haskins led the Washington Football Team to a 17-point comeback against the Eagles. Both looked good in their own individual ways in Week 1.
But which QB will come back to reality first? Or maybe this is the new reality. Maybe the Cardinals and Washington Football Team and their second-year quarterbacks are ready to make enormous strides.
Most analysts have each team a year or two removed from playoff contention, but hey, they both finished in last place within their divisions last year, yet they’re both coming off Week 1 victories against playoff teams. You never know.
My guess is one of these teams will likely come back to reality, and my bet is it’s the Cardinals. Despite the Week One win, the NFC West is just too strong for the Cardinals to be for real this year. On the other hand, Washington plays in a much weaker NFC East.
Who would’ve thought there would actually be a good amount of hype surrounding the Week Two matchup between the Washington Football Team and the Arizona Cardinals? I sure as heck didn’t.
New England Patriots (1-0) @ Seattle Seahawks (1-0)
2020 Team Stats (Patriots on left side - Seahawks on right side)
- Points Scored: 21 - 38
- Passing Yards: 155 - 322
- Rushing Yards: 217 - 84
- Points Allowed: 11 - 25
- Passing Yards Allowed: 191 - 450
- Rushing Yards Allowed: 87 - 72
Story line: Will the Seahawks’ offense get the best of the Patriots’ defense, or vice versa?
Both of these team’s are 1-0. The Seahawks won their matchup against the Falcons by scoring an impressive 38 points, where Russell Wilson performed like a QB ready to win his first MVP award. The Patriots won their matchup by giving up just 11 points, the second lowest number across the league.
The belief was the Patriots would take a step back after Tom Brady left for Tampa Bay, but Bill Belichick and Cam Newton had other plans. Overall, Newton looked good in his Patriots debut, scoring two touchdowns on the ground.
At this point, the Seahawks’ offense looks leap and bounds further along than the Patriots’. Whereas the Patriots’ defense is leaps and bounds better than the Seahawks’. Even with the addition of Jamal Adams, the Seahawks defense still has it’s flaws.
The prime-time game in Seattle will be fun to watch, even though they'll be no 12th-man fans.
SI Writer's NFC West Pick ' EM
| <strong>Writer / Game</strong> | <strong>Overall Record</strong> | <strong>SF @ NYJ</strong> | <strong>LAR @ PHI</strong> | <strong>WAS @ ARZ</strong> | <strong>NE @ SEA</strong> |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nick | 1-2 | SF | LAR | WAS | SEA |
Leo | 1-2 | SF | LAR | ARZ | NE |
Jose | 1-2 | SF | LAR | ARZ | SEA |
Maverick | 0-3 | SF | LAR | ARZ | NE |
Jack | 2-1 | SF | PHI | ARZ | SEA |
Marco | 0-3 | SF | LAR | ARZ | NE |
Grant | 1-2 | SF | PHI | ARZ | SEA |
Follow me on Twitter: @NinerNick_22
