Rest of the NFC West, Week 8: The Cardinals finally lost

This week was a must-win for the Seahawks and the 49ers, and while both teams were able to take care of business, they didn’t make up ground on the second-place Rams, who took care of business on the road against the lowly Texans. Everyone made up ground on the Cardinals, though, who dropped their first game of the season in rather embarrassing fashion late, as a miscommunication between Kyler Murray and A.J. Green resulted in a game-winning interception for the Packers. Let’s dig in to what else you need to know from our rivals’ games this week.

Cardinals lose to Packers, 24-21

With both teams coming into the game shorthanded, the game between Green Bay and Arizona wasn’t quite the star-studded shootout that we would have hoped for, but it was still a gritty contest in which Arizona proved that they are real contenders. Despite losing DeAndre Hopkins for much of the game with a hamstring issue, and with him and Kyler Murray both playing through injuries, the Cardinals hung around with a Packers team that dominated them on the ground for much of the game (racking up 151 yards). A dramatic interception by Rasul Douglas on a miscommunication between Murray and A.J. Green saved the Packers in the end.

The biggest takeaways from this game are the Cardinals’ susceptibility to the run and the importance of the injury to Kyler Murray, which could keep him out for up to three weeks. The Seahawks and Cardinals are set to play in Week 11, and with a strong running game and no Murray, the Seahawks would have a very good shot at winning that game. Time will tell if Murray is able to heal in time or not, but his injury could have significant implications in the division.

49ers outlast Fields and Bears, 33-22

In what was one of the more entertaining games of the early window Sunday, Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers offense put together a complete game which saw him throw for over 300 yards and no interceptions, while also running for two scores. A healthy Elijah Mitchell racked up 137 more on the ground, and the 49ers also managed to get Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk involved in the passing game, with the two combining for 10 catches and 216 yards.

All in all, the Niners played a solid, complete game, and deserved to win. Nothing happened in this game to suggest to me that they had turned any sort of corner, though, and this team is still likely not bound for the playoffs. In fact, the most memorable moments of growth in this game came from Bears QB Justin Fields, who had one of the most incredible runs I’ve seen in a while from a quarterback.

Rams handle Texans, disappoint fantasy owners with late defensive collapse

The Rams, as expected, had no issues taking down the Davis Mills-led Texans, opening up a 38-0 lead in the first three quarters. League-leading receiver Cooper Kupp continued to dominate, and the Rams offense had a mistake-free day. For the second week in a row, we really learned very little about this team. Perhaps there just isn’t that much new information to learn.

As someone who started the Rams as my fantasy defense, though, I was quite upset with the defensive performance from the backups in the 4th quarter, as they yielded 22 points to the Texans. I guess that’s what I get for starting a divisional rival in fantasy (although Darrell Henderson is doing just fine for me).

Standings

Arizona Cardinals – 7-1 (2-0 DIV)

Los Angeles Rams – 7-1 (1-1 DIV)

San Francisco 49ers – 3-4 (0-2 DIV)

Seattle Seahawks – 3-5 (1-1 DIV)

Next Week

Los Angeles Rams vs Tennessee Titans

Seattle Seahawks on bye week

Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers