NFC West Is a Battle to Keep an Eye on
At the beginning of the season, it was thought that the San Francisco 49ers would have little competition in the NFC West. Five weeks into the season, the NFC West is arguably football’s best division. All four teams in the division are over.500. The 49ers and Arizona Cardinals are in the lead at 4-1 with the Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams close behind at 3-2. Last week the Rams used their very tough defense to pull within a game of the lead by pinning the first loss of the season on the Cardinals 17-3. The Rams offense struggled in the game at times, but their defense was outstanding as they sacked Cardinal quarterback Kevin Kolb nine times.
San Francisco went home to face the Buffalo Bills coming off a 34-0 win in New York over the Jets the previous week. They stomped the second straight AFC East team even worse, 45-3. Alex Smith threw three touchdown passes in the rout.
The Seahawks went East to face the Carolina Panthers. The Seahawks won a tough defensive battle 16-12. The Seattle defense held Cam Newton to 12 for 29 passing on the day. The Panthers offense scored only three points on the day, the other nine points were on a Captain Nunnerlyn interception return for a touchdown and a late intentional safety taken by the Seahawks.
Bookmaker has odds for this week’s NFC West games:
St. Louis Rams at Miami Dolphins– The Rams are +3 +105. Miami is -3 -125. Over/under is 37.5. We like the Rams at +3 with that tough defense.
New England Patriots at Seattle Seahawks– New England is -3 -125. Seattle is +3 +105. Over/under is 44.5. The Patriots might be a bit too much for the young Russell Wilson to handle. We like the Patriots -3.
Buffalo Bills at Arizona Cardinals– Buffalo is +4.4 -110. The Cardinals are -4.5 -110. Over/under is 43. We like the under on this one and the Bills to cover. They can’t get blown out like that two weeks in a row can they?
New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers– A rematch of last season’s NFC Championship Game that went to the Giants in overtime. This going to be a good one. The Giants are +4.5 -110. The Niners are -4.5 -110. Over/under is 44.5. We like the Giants to cover.
