SEATTLE – There no longer are true quarter poles in the NFL season with the 17-game schedule.
But the completion of the first four games of the season is a good time to take a pause and assess where things stand in the NFC West.
Maybe to the surprise of some around the league – if not those in the NFC West – the division continues to look as strong as any.
The NFC West is one of only two divisions in which no teams have a losing record (the NFC North is the other).
Its 11-5 record includes two more wins than any division entering Monday night. The NFC North has the second-highest combined wins at nine.
Three of those losses are in the division, all in the final minute – Seattle against San Francisco and the Cardinals on last-play field goals to the 49ers and Seahawks.
The two other losses are to teams that are a combined 7-1, both also decided in the final minutes – the Rams at the 4-0 Eagles on a blocked field-goal attempt on the final play, and the 49ers at home to 3-1 Jacksonville.
And a case can be made that the Seahawks, whose point differential of 44 is the second best in the NFL, behind only the Detroit Lions’ 49, have as strong of a résumé as any team in the league’s strongest division.
Let’s rate the NFC West as teams enter what can be called the second quarter of the season:
Seattle Seahawks
Record: 3-1.
Point differential: 44 (111 scored, 67 allowed).
Opponents’ record: 8-8.
Best win: The double-digit beatdowns of the Steelers and Saints only looked better after Sunday’s events. The Steelers are 3-1 after their win over the Vikings. The Saints went to 4-0 Buffalo and stayed in the game until late in the fourth quarter. Though Seattle beat the Saints by 31 points, New Orleans has lost to Buffalo, Arizona and the 49ers by a combined 24.
Next four games: vs. Tampa Bay, Oct. 5; at Jacksonville, Oct. 12; vs. Houston, Oct. 20; at Washington, Nov. 2.
Outlook: The Seahawks have a real chance to assert themselves as one of the NFL’s best, with the next two games against teams that are currently 3-1 – Tampa Bay and Jacksonville. The Bucs have allowed the fourth-fewest yards in the NFL, and the Jaguars have allowed the fourth-fewest rushing yards. These will be good tests of whether Seattle can get its running game going.
Why they are rated here: In case you think this is a homer Seattle vote, consider that Pro Football Reference on Monday had the Seahawks second in their Simple Rating System at 9.8 behind only Detroit’s 11.0. PFR defines its SRS as using “a team’s point differential and strength of schedule to assign a rating to each team, with 0.0 considered average.”
But this next quarter will tell a lot.
Los Angeles Rams
Record: 3-1.
Point differential: 19 (100 scored, 81 allowed).
Opponents’ record: 8-8.
Best win: Seahawks fans could only watch helplessly Sunday as the Rams scored 14 points in the final 3:20 to beat a previously undefeated Indianapolis team 27-20. But the Rams earned the win, gaining 462 yards against a Colts defense that hadn’t allowed more than 324 in its first three games. The Rams are among the top 10 teams in total offense (fourth) and total defense (ninth).
Next four games: vs. San Francisco, Oct. 2; at Baltimore, Oct. 12; at Jacksonville, Oct. 19; vs. New Orleans, Nov. 2.
Outlook: Like the Seahawks, the Rams have their bye during the weekend of Oct. 27. The Rams play three of their next six games against divisional foes – the 49ers twice and at home against Seattle on Nov. 16, a game that suddenly looms as even more potentially pivotal than it had appeared. And it goes without saying the Thursday night game against the 49ers looms large and will allow Seattle to move into a two-way tie atop the division Sunday. The Rams are an early 5.5-point favorite.
Why they are rated here: The Rams are seventh in the NFL in SRS, and the most meaningful thing they have done is answer whether 37-year-old quarterback Matthew Stafford can still play at an elite level. Stafford has done that and then some with a passer rating of 106.1 and an 8-to-2 TD-to-interception ratio.
San Francisco 49ers
Record: 3-1.
Point differential: 5 (80 scored, 75 allowed).
Opponents’ record: 8-8.
Best win: The 49ers’ last-minute win is the only thing keeping Seattle from being undefeated. It’s also maybe the only thing already keeping an increasingly injury-riddled 49ers team afloat. San Francisco’s other two wins are 26-21 at New Orleans and 16-15 at home against Arizona, a game that without a dropped pass or two the Cardinals probably win.
Next four games: at L.A. Rams, Oct. 2; at Tampa Bay, Oct. 12; vs. Atlanta, Oct. 19; at Houston, Oct. 26.
Outlook: The 49ers survived two games without Brock Purdy. But their newly rich QB continues to deal with a toe injury, and it’s unclear if he’ll play Thursday against the Rams. The 49ers also learned last week that they’ll be without standout pass rusher Nick Bosa, who made the game’s key play against the Seahawks, for the rest of the season due to an ACL injury.
Why they are ranked here: The injury bug just continues to catch up to the 49ers, and Sunday’s home loss to Jacksonville could prove to be a killer now that they have three of their next four on the road. Wins by the Seahawks and Rams this week could begin to turn the NFC West into a two-team race. Conversely, a 49ers win would help to re-establish the 49ers’ bona fides. If you’re wondering, the 49ers are 10th in SRS.
Arizona Cardinals
Record: 2-2.
Point differential: 8 (82 scored, 74 allowed).
Opponents’ record: 7-9.
Best win: Arizona’s two victories are 20-13 at winless New Orleans and 27-22 at home against 1-3 Carolina.
Next four games: vs. Tennessee, Oct. 5; at Indianapolis, Oct. 12; vs. Green Bay, Oct. 19; at Dallas, Nov. 3.
Outlook: The Cardinals have what should be a “get right’’ game against the woeful Titans this week. But then comes a tough three-game stretch sandwiched around the bye that figures to determine if they are contenders or pretenders in the NFC West.
Why they are rated here: The Cardinals can rightly argue that they are just a couple of plays from being undefeated. Their defense has allowed the fifth-fewest points in the NFL and should keep them in most games. But an offense that features some big-name players continues to underachieve, ranking 21st in points scored. Still, Arizona is 12th in the NFL in SRS.