Week 2 was not kind to NFL players. We saw a multitude of injuries, but luckily the NFC West came through relatively unscathed. So now, let’s take a look at an NFC West Preview for Week 3!
Los Angeles Rams @ Cleveland Browns
The Browns hype has landed them a prime time matchup against one of the best teams in the league, the Los Angeles Rams. Not to take a dig at the Browns, but they are an unimpressive 1-1 on the year. Week 1 they were dismantled, 43-13, by a Titans team that struggled to score 7 points on Thursday Night Football. Their week 2 win came against the New York Jets who are on their 3rd quarterback. A lot of team’s struggled week 1 that I did not expect to, so perhaps I am being too harsh on the Browns. However they have a chance to turn their offseason hype into something great if they can beat the Rams.
Sean McVay and company just took down the reigning NFC South kings in the New Orleans Saints 27-9. The Rams are certainly establishing themselves as a favorite for the post season and even the Super Bowl. I think this week the Rams take advantage of their strong run game and the Browns struggle to stop the run. Through 2 weeks of football running backs have amassed 328 scrimmage yards against the Browns defense. The creative play calling by McVay coupled with the talent in Todd Gurley will ultimately land the Rams the win. My prediction for this game is the Rams over the Browns, 34-17.
New Orleans Saints @ Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks have lucked out 2 weeks in a row due to the opposing quarterbacks being injured and ruled out. Last week Ben Roethlisberger left at the half due to a season ending elbow injury. This week Drew Brees had thumb surgery due to a collision with Aaron Donald last week sidelining Brees for approximately 6 to 8 weeks.
The Seahawks were already a good team and sure, it is not a certainty that they will win this week. However they face another backup in Teddy Bridgewater, who is currently the highest paid backup quarterback. Bridgewater entered for Brees last week in the second quarter against the Rams when it was a close game at 3-0. The game ended in defeat, 27-9, with Bridgewater throwing for 165 yards on 30 passes.
It was already going to be tough to beat the Seahawks on the road with a healthy Brees, now it seems highly unlikely. Bridgewater still has very talented weapons surrounding him, but he will need to connect with Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas for things to happen. Although the Saints still have a lot of talent surrounding Bridgewater, I think Russell Wilson will prove to be too much for the Saints. He is efficient, quick, can throw, and does not turn the ball over. My prediction for this game is Seahawks over Saints, 31-13.
Pittsburgh Steelers @ San Francisco 49ers
I don’t know what is more crazy, the number of injuries to quarterbacks last week or the fact that the 49ers are 2-0 while looking like a contender for the NFC West. Although their 2 wins have come against weak teams, they have looked good. Scoring over 30 in both games and keeping both opponents to under 20 points. Their defense has looked much improved and they finally could be getting a full season of Jimmy Garoppolo. Unfortunately they do play in what is currently the best division in football that has 3 out of 4 teams being 2-0, 49ers being 1 of the 3. If the Cardinals and Kyler Murray get going this could be a division that sees heavy competition for wild card playoff slots.
The home opener for the 49ers will feature Mason Rudolph leading the Steelers, as Ben Roethlisberger is now on IR nursing an elbow injury. Rudolph will have a healthy James Connor and JuJu Smith-Schuster to help him out. I actually anticipate a strong outing from Rudolph loaded with passing yards. However I think that will be mostly because the Steelers will be playing from behind all day on Sunday. Much like Andy Dalton, who threw for 311 yards and 2 touchdowns, Rudolph will be airing the ball out just to keep pace on Sunday. Ultimately the Steelers will fall to the 49ers defense, and a strong run game by the 49ers that will feature 3 very good running backs in Matt Breida, Raheem Mostert, and Jeff Wilson Jr. Last week these 3 posted 317 scrimmage yards and 3 touchdowns on the Cincinnati Bengals. My prediction is 49ers over Steelers, 34-21.
Carolina Panthers @ Arizona Cardinals
This week news from this matchup has been mostly focused on if Cam Newton will be playing or not. Newton re-aggravated his foot injury against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week. On Friday Newton would be officially declared out. Now the Red Sea will face a Panthers team led by Kyle Allen. Allen is from Scottsdale, Arizona and had actually beat out Kyler Murray for starting quarterback duties at Texas A&M back in 2015. Certainly a strange twist to this matchup that will have these 2 quarterbacks facing off again. The Cardinals are 0-1-1 on the year but have been competitive in their last 2 matchups against strong defenses and competent quarterbacks.
This time last year the Cardinals point differential was 6 to 58 through 2 games. Fast forward to this year and it has vastly improved to 44 to 50. The Cardinals have found success moving the ball into the red zone, but falling short and settling to field goals. This offense has showed promise in its early stages and surprised me in certain areas on defense. Particularly, the cornerbacks have played very well in absence of Robert Alford and Patrick Peterson. For them to find success, they will need to shut down the Panthers best player in Christian McCaffrey and learn how to defend tight end Greg Olsen. Tight ends have been a problem for this defense and Olsen is very experienced. Even with a Newtonless Panthers team, the Cardinals will have their work cut out for them. My prediction for this game is Cardinals over Panthers, 34-27.
Week 3 predictions – Win-Loss
Los Angeles Rams – 3-0
Seattle Seahawks – 3-0
San Francisco 49ers – 3-0
Arizona Cardinals – 1-1-1
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