Week 13 of the NFL season is almost in the books, and who would’ve thought that the NFC West would come down to the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers? The 49ers are 8-4, having won five straight, while the Seahawks sit at 7-5. The Los Angeles Rams have fallen to 3-9, and the Arizona Cardinals are 4-8. At the beginning of the season, I and many others predicted that the Seahawks would finish in last place. But just as is the case every NFL season, a couple of teams are far more competitive than expected, and the injury bug plays no favorites.
Matthew Stafford got placed on IR, effectively ending LA’s season. The Cardinals can’t play at a consistently high level with or without Kyler Murray. Meanwhile, down in San Fran, the 49ers not only lost hopeful future franchise quarterback Trey Lance, but they’ve just lost Jimmy Garoppolo for the year with a broken foot.
Breaking: Jimmy Garoppolo is out for the season with a broken foot pic.twitter.com/SRA3shLwDL
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 5, 2022
The 49ers are likely to move forward with 2022’s Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy, who was thrust into action against the Dolphins and steadied the ship to a victory. The question moving forward, however, is whether or not Brock Purdy will continue to impress or will NFL defenses expose him as the 262nd pick in the draft. The 49ers have five games remaining, two of which are division games, and two are against teams with fierce defenses. With a one-game lead in the NFC West, if the 49ers can hold can at least win three of their next five, they’ll more than likely win the division. If not, the fairytale Seahawks, led by Geno Smith, may reclaim the NFC West.
The Seahawks Must Take Care of Business
No offense to Brock Purdy, but I don’t believe he’ll win enough games to keep the 49ers in the lead. The 49ers face the Seahawks, Buccaneers, Commanders, and Cardinals. All these games are losable due to being either a division game or a game against a good defense. Then there’s their game against the Raiders, and though Vegas has underperformed, their offense could cause problems. Meanwhile, the Seahawks face the Panthers, 49ers, Jets, Chiefs, and Rams. The games against the 49ers and Jets may be dicey due to their defenses, but outside of Patrick Mahomes, the Seahawks don’t face a single franchise quarterback.
If I had to predict how the final five games for both teams “should” play out, I see the Seahawks going 4-1 and the 49ers going 2-3. The season would end with the Seahawks having an 11-6 record to the 49ers 10-7. If the Seahawks take care of business and the 49ers continue to struggle to win without Jimmy Garoppolo, the NFC West will belong to Seattle. Given my previous articles about the Seahawk’s season, you would think I’d be cheering against this. However, given the Bronco’s record and the fact the Seahawks own their draft pick, I’m perfectly okay with this! What better way to end the season than with a playoff berth and a top-five pick in this coming draft?
If we’re being honest, the more likely scenario is both teams end the season with ten wins and it comes down to the division record or a tiebreaker. In the end, the race to win the NFC West is about to heat up here over the final five weeks.
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