The NFC West has four teams, but the race to the top is only a two-team affair between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks, who both brandish a lineup that is stacked from top to bottom. The Arizona Cardinals, despite being the best third-place team in the league, still don’t break the top two here, and the St. Louis Rams just had their head/quarterback cut off for the season. This year, the division belongs to either the 49ers or the Seahawks.
Read on for more on the NFC West and don’t miss our breakdowns of the NFC North and NFC East while you’re at it.
[sc:Football ]2014 NFC West Preview
How much will the 49ers’ passing game improve?
[sc:NFL240banner ]With Colin Kaepernick using his legs and Frank Gore steamrolling defenses around the league, the 49ers were able to rush for an average of 137.6 per game, good for third-best in the NFL in 2013.
The rushing offense was able to put up such numbers because they don’t only have talent in that area but also because they had a need to compensate for their passing game, which without wideout Michael Crabtree for most of the season.
Crabtree played in only five games last season, missing the rest to heal from an Achilles tendon injury. While he’s out, Anquan Boldin and Vernon Davis shared the receiving chores, accumulating 1,179 and 850 receiving yards, respectively. Other than those two, no other receiver has more than 250 yards, magnifying the lack of depth from the position.
However, with a healthier Crabtree, the arrival of former Buffalo Bill Stevie Johnson, and the return of Brandon Lloyd to the team that drafted him in 2010, it seems that the depth problem has been resolved.
Johnson, who was deemed disposable by the Bills after the team drafted Sammy Watkins, finished last season with 597 receiving yards on a team-leading 40.9 yards per game for Buffalo. Lloyd, on the other hand, led the league in receiving yards in 2010 with 1,448.
Is Seattle’s defense better than last season’s?
It’s hard to top the kind of defense that the Seahawks used to annihilate teams last season. Seattle put opposing teams’ offenses in a chokehold in 2013, limiting them to only 14.4 PPG on 273.6 total yards per contest. But if there is one team that could one-up what Pete Carroll’s defensive unit did last season, it might be themselves.
Seattle’s defense was able to retain the key guys in their defensive line (re-signed Michael Bennett) and in the secondary (Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman, and Kam Chancellor), which will all ensure cohesiveness in the group despite the departures of the likes of Red Bryant, Chris Clemons, Clinton McDonald, and Walter Thurmond.
Key Player – Colin Kaepernick
Things are going to change for the better for the 49ers this season, as Kaepernick appears to have the right weapons at his disposal to overcome the area where San Francisco under-performed last season – the passing game.
The 49ers (finished 30th in 2013 in passing yards with 186.2 per game) have added bodies in the receiving corps, leaving the team little to no excuse to not improve on offense. In the middle of it is Kaepernick, who signed a six-year, $126-million extension, which should be the impetus for him to maximize the full potential of his weapons.
Key Game – Seattle Seahawks @ San Francisco 49ers (Week 13, November 27)
The NFC West supremacy will likely be a two-team battle between the Seahawks and the 49ers. Seattle is the favorite to win the NFC West with odds of +110, but the 49ers are not far behind with +140.
Both teams are stacked and are not only powers in their division, but also two of the top favorites to win the Super Bowl in Arizona next year. That said, this game is going to be more than a battle between two clubs jostling for the top spot in the NFC West, but could be conference championship preview.
There are also the sidelights, which includes the first time Michael Crabtree and Richard Sherman get on the field together again since their bitter matchup in the 2013 NFC title game.
The Seahawks are 3-1 SU and 4-0 ATS in their last four games in San Francisco, while the 49ers are 5-3 SU in their last eight meetings with Seattle.
Writer’s Prediction
The San Francisco 49ers will win the division, leaving the Seattle Seahawks in the No. 2 spot. The Arizona Cardinals finish third, and the Bradford-less Rams, last. Create a betting account now, and bet on the NFL futures.
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