The NFC West teams have some important matchups in week 4
This weekend the Arizona Cardinals and the St. Louis Rams have the only head-to-head matchup within the NFC West division. The Seattle Seahawks host the Detroit Lions on Monday night and the San Francisco 49ers host the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon.
The Cardinals hold a two-game lead over the entire division. They are 3-0 while the other three teams sit at 1-2 after three weeks.
St. Louis Rams at Arizona Cardinals:
Let’s be honest, the Rams will have the best defense the Cardinals have seen so far this season. They held the Pittsburgh Steelers to just 12 points last week at the Edward Jones Dome. They still lost 12-6 though. That 12-6 score also happens to be the score of the last time these two teams tangled last December on a Thursday night.
Quarterback Drew Stanton got the start in that one. It was a field-goal fest as Stanton went down and was eventually lost for the season after taking a hit and suffering another concussion.
I don’t expect that kind of game this time around. Carson Palmer will start for the Cardinals this Sunday. If you remember it was against the Rams that Palmer tore his ACL on a non-contact play in November. So I don’t put much bearing on the fact that it was the Rams he got injured against.
The Cardinals offense is blazing hot. They have scored 40 plus points in two consecutive games, which is the first time they have done that since 1969. I don’t think they reach the 40-point mark again but hey anything can happen. The Seahawks scored 31 on them in St. Louis. The Washington Redskins scored 24 on them.
I am going to predict a Cardinals win. Cardinals 34 Rams 17
Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers:
I think the one thing the 49ers have going for them here is the game is in Santa Clara. That might be the only factor 49ers fans can say they have in their favor going into this one. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been red hot to start the season. He has thrown 10 touchdowns and no interceptions.
Meanwhile the 49ers have given up 43 and 47 points each of the last two weeks. That really isn’t a confidence builder against a team that is coming off 38 points on Monday night. I just think there will be too much Green Bay and more struggles for the 49ers on both offense and defense.
Packers 41 49ers 20
Detroit Lions at Seattle Seahawks:
Detroit shows us just how much they are struggling on offense. They managed 12 points at home last Sunday night against the Denver Broncos. They are 0-3 and not playing very smart either. Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has been reluctant to throw the ball down field for whatever reason. If he has been reluctant against other teams, that attitude certainly isn’t likely to change against the Seahawks.
As for the Seahawks they are coming off a 26-0 victory over the Chicago Bears. It gave them their first win of the season after dropping the first two games without defensive star Kam Chancellor. I don’t know if he was the difference last week or not but certainly just having him there creates a different game plan for opposing offenses.
I can’t see anyway the Lions come out of here with a win. This loss will give the Lions an 0-4 start with Arizona looming in week 5.
Seahawks 30 Lions 9
So after week four, the standings should look like this:
Arizona Cardinals 4-0
Seattle Seahawks 2-2
St. Louis Rams 1-3
San Francisco 49ers 1-3
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