2012-2016- The Fisher Era

Week 14 NFC West Preview: Will the Seattle Seahawks surpass the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West?

The once high and mighty Cardinals seemed to soar high above the rest of the NFC West division, but after Week 13 the Seahawks are only one game behind. The Seattle Seahawks dominated the San Francisco 49ers defensively on the road. As hard as it is to believe, the Cardinals couldn’t pick up a victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Rams had fun shutting out the Oakland Raiders. Could the division shift to the Seahawks in Week 14?

Here’s a look at this week’s NFC West matchups:

St. Louis Rams @ Washington Redskins: What we witnessed last week is exactly what Rams fans were expecting over the past couple of seasons. Fans were waiting for wide receivers Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey to run all over opponents. They were also hoping to see the breakaway speed of rookie running back Tre Mason and were expecting to see the dominant defensive presence of “Sack City.”

At this point, it’s doubtful that the Rams will make the playoffs, but right now there isn’t a team in the NFL that wants to play them. The Redskins’ season has gone from bad to worse after the benched the person who was supposed to be their franchise quarterback in Robert Griffin III. They did give the Rams a small fortune of draft picks to select him. That said, backup quarterback Colt McCoy did perform well last week against the Indianapolis Colts, passing for 392 yards and three touchdowns. The Redskins’ offensive line must protect McCoy if they want a shot at beating the Rams. All the Rams need to do is play like they did against the Raiders and we could witness another thrashing.

Prediction: 42-21, Rams.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals appeared unstoppable for most of the season, and now they have lost two straight games. The Chiefs know exactly what that feels like, especially when they hit rock bottom after losing to the Raiders. What’s most concerning for the Cardinals is the current injury list. Last week, key players such as Andre Ellington, Paul Fanaika and Tyrann Mathieu left the game early with injuries. The Cardinals were already playing with limited depth. The positive news is that wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is expected to return after spraining his MCL against the Detroit Lions.

Protecting Drew Stanton will be a chore, because of Kansas City’s dominant defensive front, but they must find a way to hold them off if they want to snap their losing streak. Even if they can protect Stanton, they also have to stop the Chiefs on the ground. The only shot the Cardinals have at winning is by keeping it a low-scoring game. I don’t believe that the Cardinals can do that, expect them to extend their losing streak.

Prediction: 24-10, Chiefs.

San Francisco 49ers @ Oakland Raiders: On paper, the 49ers should breeze through this game, but their offense is a concern and this game could potentially be a lot closer than initially thought. Over the past five games, the 49ers have averaged a total of 15 points, and what has allowed them to win some of these games is their defense.

If the 49ers’ defense falls apart, there is a real possibility that the Raiders could upset the 49ers. However, despite the loss to the Seahawks last week, San Francisco is only two games behind the Cardinals for first place in the NFC West. The 49ers have too much riding on this game to lose to a mediocre team like the Raiders, and their defense has played with a chip on their shoulder lately. San Francisco should win on the road.

Prediction: 23-7, 49ers.

Seattle Seahawks @ Philadelphia Eagles: Seattle can make a serious case for themselves in the playoffs if they finish the rest of the season strong. Beating the 49ers was huge and now they must attempt to beat the Eagles in Philadelphia. The strategy has to be pressuring Eagles’ quarterback Mark Sanchez. Sanchez has done a great job filling in for Nick Foles, but he can easily become a turnover nightmare if he is constantly under pressure. Philadelphia’s running backs will be challenged against the fifth ranked rushing defense which only allows about 86 yards per game.

The obvious go to person on Seattle’s offense is Marshawn Lynch and while he will need to have a good game it’s also important for the passing game to be involved too. The Eagles’ passing defense is among the league’s worst so quarterback Russell Wilson will need to step up.  As long as the Seahawks’ offense can remain on the field, this game should belong to Seattle.

Prediction: 28-24, Seahawks.

Source: ESPN.com

You can follow Johnny Gomez on Twitter @Johnny5not6. Be sure to follow Rams Talk on Twitter @TalkRams.

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