NFC West Week 17 Preview
It’s the finale of the NFL schedule coming up this weekend and as expected some of the division races have come down to the wire. Although two teams in the NFC West have already clinched playoff berths, they both would love nothing more than to be able to call themselves division champions and this week they both have the opportunity to claim the West title. For the Seahawks, it will mean swooping in and stealing it out from under San Francisco with a win against St. Louis while hoping SF goes down. However, at the moment, the Niners look poised to clinch, as long as they takes care of business against the lowly Arizona Cardinals.
St. Louis Rams 7-7-1 at Seattle Seahawks 10-5
The Hawks are hitting their stride at just the right time
The Seahawks are undoubtedly playing their best football of the year and at the perfect time. Seattle is currently on a four-game winning streak, with three of its victories coming by more than 25 points, including last week’s supremely impressive win against the division-leading 49ers 42-13. The Hawks will look to end the season on a high note by defeating the vastly improved Rams, which beat Seattle in St. Louis earlier this year.
St. Louis ranks near the middle in all major categories, whereas the Hawks are in the top 12 in run defense, pass defense and rushing. Seattle is playing top-notch and still has not lost at home, so it would be hard to go against it here. However, with a spread of 11, St. Louis to cover looks like a better bet.
Sure, the Hawks have blown out their last three opponents, but historically, the Rams have always played the Seahawks tough and I believe they will again, covering +11 in the loss. If you are betting the moneyline, take Seattle to win outright.
Arizona Cardinals 5-10 at San Francisco 49ers 10-4-1
The Niners should have enough in the tank to clinch the West
San Fran gets the pleasure of playing a team that has won one game in its last 11, making it fairly assured that the Niners will clinch the division, especially considering they are at home. With one of the league’s defenses, albeit one that got scorched last week, the Niners should easily contain one of the league’s worst offenses and run games. However, looking at the insane 17 point spread, I have to like the Cardinals here. The 49ers are just not a blow-em-out type team and considering how badly they got smacked last week, I don’t see them dominating anyone this week.
I still think the appointment of Colin Kaepernick at starting QB is a decision that will come back to haunt them come playoff time and we may start to see the negative effects of it trickle through this week. We definitely saw ineffective he can be last week against a good defense and I’m afraid to say, but in the playoffs most defenses will be strong.
Bottom line here: Take the Niners to win, but the Cards to cover the ridiculous +17 spread this week.
