NFC West Lookaround: Updates on Cardinals, 49ers and Seahawks

TGIF* Turf Show Family!

*Thank Goodness It’s Football

How was that for a hectic week two in the NFL? One week after blowing out their competition, the NFC West decided to make things a little close for comfort in one-possession games. The Rams 27-24 win over the Colts was a microcosm for how the afternoon was about to go for the division.

Los Angeles remains in a tie for first-place following the victory as the 49ers and Cardinals both pulled off wins on Sunday as well. The Seahawks got uninvited from the winners circle and now sit in last place in the division. Someone had to fall victim in the Wild West eventually and be thankful it was only them. Let’s go ahead and check out the results from every divisional matchup.

Cardinals give Minnesota a Viking funeral in close win

This week, the Cardinals had probably the best and perhaps the luckiest finish of the weekend, courtesy of a missed field goal that Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer deemed, “should be an easy one”.

Kyler Murray, or Baby Yoda, as we should start calling him, threw for 400 yards and added three more touchdowns as part of his sizzling start. Murray’s 400 yards was the second-highest output of his career after putting up 406 against the Eagles last season. Kyler also ran for a score on the ground which was the 17th of his career, setting a new franchise record for QBs. If he continues this hot streak, he’ll become an MVP-favorite before we know it.

Since the defense couldn’t follow up an encore performance following last week’s win over the Titans, they have no highlights so I’m gonna stick with the offense. Rookie receiver Rondale Moore once again looked impressive in snagging seven passes for 114 yards, including this gnarly 77-yard touchdown off an absurd play from Murray:

Tight end Maxx Williams also caught seven passes as he fell six yards shy of the century mark. Oh yeah, and A.J. Green did stuff too. Nothing Williams or Moore good, but he had three receptions for 44 yards and this touchdown early in the third quarter:

Next Week: The Redbirds travel out to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars. Chandler Jones will probably have 20 sacks in that game, so Trevor Lawrence might wanna think about calling in sick.

Cry Eagles Cry as they lose defensive battle to 49ers

Do not, in any way, allow 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa to fool you. I don’t care if he seems harmless as this picture with a couple French Bulldogs appears to illustrate:

Those puppers should be thanking their lucky stars they weren’t on Philly’s offensive line protecting quarterback Jalen Hurts from his wrath in a 17-11 win over the Eagles. Bosa appears to be back following the torn ACL that ended his 2020 campaign. He recorded a pair of sacks on the afternoon, upping his total to three on the year, including this vicious one on Hurts, which had to Hurts a lot:

On the offensive side of the ball, wide receiver Deebo Samuel added to his surprising start to 2021 as he caught six more passes for 93 yards. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo shook off a sluggish start to the game by going 22-for-30 for 189 yards and a touchdown while running one in himself. There weren’t many highlights for him but this throw late in the second quarter was ridiculously good:

In other news, San Francisco may want to try wrapping their running backs in bubble wrap during every game. A week after losing Raheem Mostert for the season, the Niners lost three more backs who were trying to replace him. In a five-minute span, starter Elijah Mitchell’s injured his right shoulder, then it was an ankle injury for JaMycal Hasty, and finally rookie Trey Sermon left the game with a concussion. Hasty and Sermon didn’t return while Mitchell did, but he’ll be receiving futher tests once the team returns to the Bay.

Next Week: The 49ers host the Packers on Sunday Night Football in a game that could rival their two blowouts over the team in 2019. Aaron Rodgers is probably tanking the cheeseheads so Green Bay should lose easily.

Derrick Henry is the only Ten-I-See in Titans win over Seahawks

It’s not even Thanksgiving yet but I’m already beyond thankful for the Tennessee Titans who rallied from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to win 33-30 in overtime against the Seahawks. Seriously, this result made me so insanely happy in seeing the Hawks blow a 24-9 halftime lead thanks to numerous second-half calls about as tasteless as Pete Carroll’s gum.

The loss marked the first loss in a home opener for Carroll, as his teams were 11-0 in that span. It was only the fourth time in team history that the Seahawks lost when leading by at least 15 points at halftime and first since losing to the St. Louis Rams 33-27 in overtime in 2004.

All of this was compliments of All-Pro running back Derrick Henry who scored two touchdowns in the final quarter of regulation to rally the Titans from a 30-16 fourth-quarter deficit. According to ESPN, Henry continues to make history:

“Henry now has four career games with at least 150 yards rushing and three or more touchdowns. Only Barry Sanders (six), Jim Brown (six) and LaDainian Tomlinson (five) have more. Eric Dickerson also had four. Henry also became the 18th player in league history with at least 10 games of 150 yards rushing. The Titans are 10-0 in those games.”

There were some silver linings for Seattle considering Russell Wilson performed well in what will likely be another season he fails to earn the MVP award. Wilson went 22-of-31 for 343 yards and two touchdowns. Receiver Tyler Lockett continues his torrid pace as he caught eight more pigskins for 178 yards along with this 63-yard scamper to the house:

Despite King Henry making the Hawks’ defense look like his peasants, linebacker Bobby Wagner was about the only Seattle defender who cared to show up.

Wagner stuffed the stat sheet, earning a sack, a tackle for loss and two QB hits to go along with his 20 tackles (16 solo). His sack on Tannehill in the red zone on third-and-goal was just plain filthy:

Next Week: The Seahawks visit the Vikings hoping to take out their frustrations and spoil their home opener.