With just four games left in the 2021 regular season, there is still plenty to fight for, with each team in the division capable of making the playoffs. Seattle’s chances diminish with each passing week, but it’s admirable they are still holding on to a slim thread of hope. Arizona seemed like they were charging toward an insurmountable lead just a few weeks ago. Still, they have not had as much success riding the injury merry-go-round as the rest of their rivals and have slipped to a one-game lead over LA and no longer hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.
This is where each team stands as of this week, and the Rams host Seattle this Sunday afternoon, so there is bound to be more shaking up before next week. Arizona travels to Detroit, and San Francisco hosts Atlanta, so it’s not likely there will be more than one loss in the division this week, but stranger things have happened.
If the Rams win and Arizona loses, LA would take over first place with a superior conference record. If the Rams lose and Arizona wins, it could be a longshot for LA to make up two games before the end of the season, but we can’t rule it out. This week appears to be a must-win for both teams, but this late in the year and with the number one seed still in play, they need to win out if they want to compete for a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, especially since both teams play indoors at home. If either team loses a game the rest of the way, it could mean a long shot to get the top seed in the conference, and that would likely mean traveling to a hostile environment in the playoffs, something no team competing for the Super Bowl wants.
Below are the current playoff standings in the NFC. Arizona is the three seed, LA is the five seed, and San Francisco holds steady in the sixth seed. Seattle is way down the list at thirteen seed, and they need to climb all the way to seven to make the playoffs.
Moving six spots in four weeks sounds awfully tough, but they have a shot. They have to take down LA in LA this weekend, and if they can do that and get some help from Chicago, San Francisco, Tampa Bay, and Buffalo, then who knows. Chicago plays Minnesota, San Francisco plays Atlanta, Tampa Bay plays New Orleans, and Buffalo plays Carolina, so that’s the list of teams Seattle is rooting for this week. It’s odd to root for your division rival, but San Francisco winning actually helps Seattle as they would knock Atlanta down another spot and give Seattle a chance to move up. It’s going to be tough to move up to the sixth spot, so you actually want to keep the 49ers there.
Washington losing to Philadelphia and vice versa doesn’t benefit Seattle either way, so we’ll say one of them needs to lose and not have an opinion on which one it is. A tie actually hurts Seattle, so it needs to be a game won by someone.
With home games against Chicago and Detroit the next two weeks before their finale in Arizona, Seattle could move up quite a bit in the next three weeks if they play well, but a single loss likely kills any chances they have left. That makes this week’s game in LA their own personal Super Bowl, and they need to play like it. If you don’t see emergency urgency from them on every drive this week, something is wrong because that’s what it will take to win in LA. We know the Rams are in “win now” mode; we’ll have to see if Seattle feels the same way. Their win in Houston wasn’t exactly a statement win over a quality opponent, but a win over LA would be – and their first since week one in Indianapolis.
San Francisco 49ers Vs. Atlanta Falcons – Sunday 1:05 pm FOX (out of region)
Not that long ago, this game could have been a really entertaining playoff preview. These days, it’s just a game you likely want to miss. San Francisco has been playing their best football of the season in the last month, and will likely cruise to an easy victory over the team head coach Kyle Shanahan was *this* close to leading to a Super Bowl championship just five years ago. Since then, he has come *this* close to leading the 49ers to a Super Bowl championship, but this appears to be a team that peaked two years ago, so who can say where they go from here. Atlanta definitely peaked five years ago and is two years into avoiding a complete rebuild by clinging to the hope QB Matt Ryan can turn his career around. It turns out that no matter how good your QB might be, a head coach and play-caller with a loose grip on reality, a bad offensive line, a bad receiving corps, and a defense that stops absolutely no one is a poor formula for success. Who knew? “Matty Ice” might prefer to go by “Matty Please Get Me The Hell Out Of Here,” but at least he has those neat laundry detergent commercials to keep him occupied. I’ve seen his blocking; he definitely needs good detergent. This one should be an easy win for the home team as they keep cruising toward locking up a wild card spot.
Prediction – San Francisco wins 28-10
Arizona Cardinals At Detroit Lions – Sunday 10 am FOX (out of region)
After a crushing loss to LA on Monday night, the Cardinals get their “get-right” game immediately this weekend, as they face the identity-free Lions Sunday morning. It’s not a long layover from their loss on Monday night, but at least they can get back on the plane and head home for a few days of rest before they host the Colts Christmas night. Detroit was already thin at playmakers and had to roll out their third and fourth-string running backs along with their second-string tight end. They could be close to full strength this weekend, but even at three-quarter strength, they aren’t ready to compete with an elite team. Arizona needs some extra practice to get their offense back to the pace they were at before Kyler Murrary had to miss a couple of games, and this is that extra practice. Detroit might make some noise late, but this game will likely be wrapped up by halftime, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Arizona pull their starters in the fourth quarter if they get a big enough lead.
Prediction – Arizona wins 42-17
Seattle Seahawks At Los Angeles Rams – Sunday 1:25 pm FOX (in region)
This game represents Seattle’s last stand. A win means they have another week of hoping they can last long enough to get back in the playoff race. A loss means their season is all but over; they aren’t going to jump multiple spots in three weeks, not this season. While I can’t eliminate any chance Seattle has to win this game, they just haven’t shown me anything to make me believe they have it in them. They struggled to separate from Houston until the 3rd quarter, their last statement win was week one, and they haven’t looked like the same team since. Week five against LA was a winnable game, and they even had a chance after Russell Wilson went down, but a slip on the recycled tire turf by Tyler Lockett forced the game-sealing interception. If that was when the air went out of Seattle’s season, no one would blame them, but a lot of people wouldn’t accept it.
LA looked beatable as recently as two weeks ago, but they put on an offensive clinic in Arizona this past week, and there’s no reason to think they will meet more resistance while playing Seattle this Sunday. The Seahawks defense is among the league-worst, the Rams’ offense is among the league-best. Seattle’s offense is among the league-worst, LA’s defense is among the league-best.
This isn’t strength vs. strength, it’s strength vs. weakness, and I can’t say I know how Seattle is going to win, other than simply outsourcing their opponent, that is. Unless DK Metcalf has a great game, I just don’t see it happening, and DK hasn’t had a great game in quite a while. Not since week five against LA, when he caught five passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns. It’s not a monster game like the one he had in week seven last year when he torched San Francisco for 161 yards and two scores on 12 catches, but it’s still a great game, and every Seattle fan would be grateful to see him get something like that. They will likely accept just a six catch game, as he hasn’t topped five catches since week nine, which is also the last time he caught a touchdown.
If Seattle gets DK involved early – and keeps him involved, I could see this going their way. If LA puts bracket coverage on DK and forces Wilson to find another target, I don’t like their chances since they are not likely to leave Tyler Lockett one on one. If LA finds ways to keep the ball out of the hands of Metcalf and Lockett, I don’t think this is a game Wilson can win if he has to rely on Freddie Swain, Gerald Everett, and Rashaad Penny. None of them are bad players, but they perform a lot better when they aren’t being counted on and are just role players contributing when the focus is on the stars on the outside.
In their last meeting, LA held Lockett to 57 yards on five catches – on 10 targets, and Wilson had just 152 passing yards before leaving the game late in the third quarter. Metcalf caught all five of his targets, but why he wasn’t targeted more remains a mystery – especially when he was on the field for 74% of the offensive snaps but had just two targets when Wilson was in the game. Wilson has been trying to get Metcalf more involved in the last couple of weeks, but it’s a football issue right now. Lockett just gets more separation consistently and seems to be running smoother routes. DK has struggled with a foot injury most of the year, and at some point, you have to wonder if his route running has taken a step back as a result. He’ll need his best routes this Sunday if Jalen Ramsey shadows him, and he’ll need to be even better if he is forced to beat double coverage routinely.
If Seattle doesn’t move Metcalf around the formation routinely, you can probably guess there’s something deeper going on with their most talented receiver, and it won’t look right. Even if DK gets going, I don’t like Seattle in this one, but if he has a good game, they at least have a shot.
Prediction – LA wins 38-31
