2015 NFL Week 6: NFC West Roundup

The NFC West went a pitiful 1-3 during Week 5 of the NFL season. The lone victor from the division being the Arizona Cardinals, as they thoroughly manhandled the Detroit Lions 42-17. The Rams and Seattle Seahawks each let golden opportunities for a road victory against an undefeated team slip away, at least the Rams didn't blow a double digit 4th quarter lead. The San Francisco 49ers were, well, the 2015 49ers for three quarters of their game against the New York Giants which wasn't enough to come away with a win. Let's take a spin around the division to get ready for Week 6.

Arizona Cardinals

Last Week: Last week the Cardinals got back on the right track with a thorough beatdown of the winless Detroit Lions. The beating was so thorough the Lions even benched Matthew Stafford in favor of Dan Orlovsky, yes THE Dan Orlovsky who ran out of the back of the end zone during the Lions 0-16 campaign.

Major Storylines: The Cardinals regained their championship contender form against the Lions. The Cardinals lost Alex Okafor to a calf injury, to help mitigate this loss they signed veteran Dwight Freeney to a one year contract. The Cardinals also saw the return of top RB Andre Ellington, who carried the ball 3 times for 63 yards and a touchdown.

Up Next: The Cardinals will hit the road to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers are again expected to be without the services of Ben Roethlisberger, although Michael Vick did start to show signs of progress in the fourth quarter of their victory over the San Diego Chargers in Week 5.

San Francisco 49ers

Last Week: The 49ers very nearly managed to pull it off on the road, taking the 27-23 lead with less than two minutes remaining. Unfortunately for the 49ers Eli Manning answered with just 21 seconds left in the game.

Major Storylines: The big story in the 49ers camp is still the play of starting quarterback Colin Kaepernick. While Kaepernick did play a little better against the Giants, he has still struggled this season. He is also apparently "not big" on throwing mechanics.

Up Next: The 49ers will be back home playing host to the Baltimore Ravens in a clash of 1-4 teams. Each of these teams aspirations of winning their respective divisions is likely over, but crazier things have happened right?

Seattle Seahawks

Last Week: The Seahawks dropped to 2-3 on the season following their late game collapse against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Seahawks blew a 17 point lead with less than seven minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Major Storylines: The biggest storyline is the arrest and suspsension of fullback Derrick Coleman. As far as impact on the field, the largest storyline may be the return of Marshawn Lynch to the lineup. Although Thomas Rawls has really been impressive in Lynch's absence.

Up Next: The Seahawks return home to play host the the currently undefeated (4-0)Carolina Panthers. For some reason the Seahawks are a full touchdown favorite, in spite of having wins against only the lowly Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions in 2015.

St. Louis Rams

Last Week: The Rams went on the road and let a golden opportunity slip through their fingers against the Green Bay Packers. In spite of forcing Aaron Rodgers into three turnovers and Todd Gurley rushing for 159 yards, the Rams were unable to spring the upset and secure a winning record before the bye.

Major Storylines: Plenty of big storylines emerged from the Rams game against the Packers. The injury bug bit the Rams hard over the past two weeks, with Alec Ogletree going down against the Cardinals and Rodger Saffold hitting the IR following the loss to the Packers. Chris Long has also hyperextended his knee, which is expected to keep him out a couple of weeks. On the bright side there was Todd Freakin Gurley going absolutely bananas against the Packers.

Up Next: The Rams will take a little time off to rest up and figure out how they will cope with the injury situation down the stretch. They should also figure out how to get Tre Mason more touches so they don't have to give Gurley the ball 30 times per game.

Let's take a look at the current NFC West standings after the first five weeks of the 2015 season.

As you can see the Cardinals are still leading the pack, and looking to put more distance between themselves and the rest of the West. The Rams are in good position thanks to their 2-0 division record, and the presumed "easing" of the schedule coming out of the break. The Seahawks still haven't shown me any reason to believe they are legit contenders in the West, not in 2015 anyway. The 49ers are going to need to make a stunning turn around of they are going to challenge for the division.

Thanks for reading and as always, Go Rams!!!