The LA Rams could be in first place if they beat the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. That’s largely thanks to the Seahawks losing 44-34 to the Buffalo Bills this week, the second time in three games that Seattle has lost while scoring 34. The Seahawks are first in points but 30th in points allowed and 32nd in yards allowed and passing yards allowed.
Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen re-entered the MVP race while completing 31 of 38 passes for 415 yards and three interceptions, plus a rushing touchdown. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson took a notable step backwards in that same race, turning the ball over four times — perhaps making a point that anything Jared Goff could do, he could do too.
The Bills have now defeated both the Rams and Seahawks, making that AFC East loss a little less painful for Los Angeles. The same can be said for the Rams losing to the Miami Dolphins in their most recent outing.
That’s because the Dolphins defeated the Arizona Cardinals 34-31 on Sunday, dropping another NFC West opponent in the standings. The Cardinals are now 5-3, same as the Rams. The Seahawks are 6-2.
With the New Orleans Saints blowing out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football, no team in the NFC is better than 6-2. That’s the record the Saints have, while the Bucs are 6-3. The Green Bay Packers are also 6-2.
A win by the Rams over Seattle this week could vault Los Angeles to first in the NFC West. Arizona is hosting the Bills and ideally Buffalo goes perfect against the division. If the Cards lose, they drop to 5-4. New Orleans is hosting the San Francisco 49ers, who fell to 4-5 last Thursday in a loss to the Packers.
The only team with a winning record that the 49ers have beaten this season is the Rams, but could they show up one more time this season? San Francisco then has a bye week before heading to LA for a rematch.
Green Bay is hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team coming off of an exciting 27-25 loss to the Houston Texans with Jake Luton at quarterback. The Bucs next travel to face the losing — but competitively losing — Carolina Panthers. And the 5-4 Chicago Bears host the 3-6 Minnesota Vikings, winners of their last two.
Meanwhile in the NFC East, the 3-4-1 Philadelphia Eagles remained in first place but Football team at 2-6 and the Giants, Cowboys at 2-7 are not far behind.
That race is nearly as close as the one in the Rams’ division, but it is LA who could find themselves competing for the top seed in the conference with a win against the Seahawks on Sunday.