For the fifth time in seven years, the Seattle Seahawks won the NFC West last season. They will enter the season as big -390 favorites to make it six titles in nine years, with half the division in rebuilding mode. Let’s find out exactly how the season shakes out for all four teams and whether they go over or under their expected win totals.
Barring any significant injuries to key personnel (i.e. Russell Wilson), the Seahawks should have enough talent to top the division once again in 2017. The O-line remains the team’s biggest weakness, but Wilson (when fully healthy) has shown he’s good enough to overcome those issues. The Seahawks will also have a lot of depth at running back with Eddie Lacy, Thomas Rawls, and CJ Prosise.
And despite rumors of a potential trade, star corner Richard Sherman is set to return and lead that ever-reliable elite Seahawks defense along with the returning Earl Thomas.
Seattle will have some tricky road games against Green Bay, Dallas, Tennessee, and the Giants, but they should be able to squeeze out a couple of wins at the very least from those games.
Writer’s Prediction: The Seahawks go 11-5 and win the division. OVER 10.5 wins
Arizona Cardinals
Last Season: 7-8-1
The Cards are coming off a fairly disappointing campaign last season. As predicted by many, Carson Palmer regressed from his MVP-caliber play in 2015, while the rest of the offense apart from David Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald had issues.
But even with those question marks, Johnson has shown he’s good enough to carry the offense. And if the pieces they added to help the defense make their expected impact, there’s a good chance this squad bounces back.
They will also have a very manageable schedule to work with. Their toughest home game willbe against Dallas, and will host Tampa, Jacksonville, and Tennessee. Meanwhile, it’s hard to decide which among Detroit, Indy, Philly, Houston, or Washington will be their toughest road game.
Writer’s Prediction: The Cardinals get better but aren’t good enough to unseat the Seahawks. They still finish 9-7, though, to go OVER 8.5 wins.
Los Angeles Rams
Last Season: 4-12
Jeff Fisher’s magic touch of mediocrity finally wore off last season as the Rams bottomed out in their first season back in LA. After going 3-1 in their first four games, they went 1-11 the rest of the way.
Last year’s No. 1 pick Jared Goff took over halfway through the season and was a disappointment. However, running back Todd Gurley—bad offensive line or no—was arguably worse given what he did in his rookie year.
It’ll be up to new head coach Sean McVay—the youngest coach in NFL history—to fix this leaky ship. Unfortunately, he just doesn’t look to have enough pieces to field a very competitive team.
Writer’s Prediction: The Rams remain bad under McVay as they go UNDER 5.5 wins.
San Francisco 49ers
Last Season: 2-14
The Niners are just beginning what is expected to be a pretty lengthy rebuild. New head coach Kyle Shanahan will not have much to work with offensively. Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley are his options at quarterback, while his top wideout will be Pierre Garcon.
They should improve, although that’s mainly because it’ll be hard for them to be as bad as they were last season. Their front seven will feature a handful of very young, talented first-round picks, while the secondary has the experience of Eric Reid and Jimmie Ward.
Even with a fairly decent schedule, it’s hard to see this group winning more than four games next season.
Writer’s Prediction: The Niners will still be one of the worst teams in the league as they go 4-12 in Shanahan’s debut season, which will be UNDER 4.5 wins.
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