Ten weeks in and the NFC West picture still isn’t clear. A look at the standings reveals a murky mess, with all four teams withing two games of each other. The Seattle Seahawks took the lead, if only temporarily, with a win over the Arizona Cardinals coupled with the St. Louis Rams’ overtime loss to San Fransisco. And thus, we have a division where an 8-8 team may just walk out of the fiery carnage with a playoff berth. Bless the NFC West.
The Seahawks used a strong performance by quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, working with one partially functioning appendage, to down the Cardinals. After cracking his left wrist during a first half quarterback sneak — it failed, by the way — Hasselbeck roared back onto the scene with a heavily taped wrist to secure the victory. On the day, he threw for 333 yards and a touchdown in Seattle’s 36-18 win.
There was plenty of drama in San Fransisco as the 49ers needed overtime to down the Rams. Troy Smith was an absolute revelation, throwing for 356 yards and a touchdown. For his efforts, he was rewarded with a win and another week at the helm for the Niners. The Rams fell out of first place with the loss, though Sam Bradford had another strong game in a superb rookie campaign.
After 10 weeks, the Seahawks lead the Rams by a game, with the 49ers and Cardinals lurking, just two games out of first place. Your NFC West motto for the year: “A .500 record will do it.”