This just in: The San Francisco 49ers are one game out of first place in the NFC West.

[KamaAina]

Yes, those San Francisco 49ers. The ones who improved* to 4-7 after tonight's beatdown of two-time defending division champs Arizona.

That's right: The two teams tied for first (Seattle and the Ram-Its) are 5-6. It is entirely possible that 8-8, or even 7-9, will win the division. :scared:

[thatsrightimirish]

1. sad on so many levels

But I think the Niners could make the playoffs AND have a decent draft pick!

[Upton]

2. Their OL just dominated the game..

which was nice for a change. 261 rushing yards. Great to see Westbrook. I hope Gore isn't seriously hurt. Got to keep this performance in perspective though, Arizona's defense is just terrible. The only other game I watched them was against Seattle, and the Seahawks, not exactly an offensive juggernaut, were moving the ball up and down the field on them too.

I wonder about the 49ers play calling. Here they are, able to run almost at will, and on several occasions in the second half with a big lead, pass plays were being called on first down.

[JonLP24]

12. Opps

[fishwax]

3. Rookie Sam Bradford has his team in the driver's seat in that division

and he's getting better as the season goes on. He may hit a wall at some point, but what he and the Rams have accomplished already has been impressive.

The most games ever won by a rookie QB taken first in the draft is 6. (Jim Plunkett went 6-8 with the Patriots in 1971.) It's rare enough that a rookie QB leads his team to the playoff, even when (like Sanchez, Flacco, or Roethlisberger) they're picked by teams with a record of recent success and several puzzle pieces in place. But Sam Bradford took over a team that had only won six games in the last three years and had only had four pro-bowlers (three of them since retired) in the last five years.

edit: I said three of their recent pro-bowlers had retired, but one (Marc Bulger) is actually still playing, just not for the Rams.

[Upton]

4. Rams in the drivers seat?

The Rams are currently tied with the Seahawks and Seattle has 3 home games left, compared to the Rams 2. Rams still have to play the Saints in New Orleans. Seattle has the Falcons, but it's a home game.

What's interesting is the Rams play the Seahawks in the final game of the year in Seattle. The division could come down to that game. I don't think either team is in the drivers seat, but the edge schedule wise has to go to Seattle.

Bradford has had a great year. If the 49ers had him, they'd be running away with the division.

[fishwax]

5. well, they did already beat the seahawks

they play again the last week of the season, though. I'm not predicting they'll win the division, or anything, but the Rams control their own destiny at this point, and that's a shock considering that, well, it's the Rams. Seattle has more home games remaining than St. Louis, but they're also a bit beat up, and they've lost four of their last five. They've been outscored by 64 since their bye week. They have no passing defense, a bad rushing defense, and a rushing game that recently surpassed Denver's for the league's most anemic. Even if they beat Carolina next week, it wouldn't be at all surprising if they lost the next four.

The 49ers visit to St. Louis the week before could also be huge, especially if the niners beat Seattle in two weeks. But the niners have a tougher schedule remaining than the other two teams.

"Bradford has had a great year. If the 49ers had him, they'd be running away with the division."

San Francisco definitely has more talent to put around him. And he'd be an upgrade over what they've got now. I don't know enough about the 49ers QB coach or OC to know what kind of difference coaching might make, but based on all the reports I read out of training camp Bradford was far ahead of the typical rookie QB in attitude and intangibles that I'm sure he could have been successful anywhere.

[JonLP24]

13. He is the first rookie in NFL history

To throw for 300 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions on the road his rookie season.

[fishwax]

14. wow! didn't realize that

I knew it was a great game, but didn't realize it hadn't been done before. Too bad it happened against the Broncos :(.

[JonLP24]

15. First one to do it on the road

He is the first rookie QB since John Elway. Elway threw for 300+ yards, 3 TDs, and no interceptions. He did it against the Baltimore Colts his rookie season but it was at home, not on the road like Bradford.. Strangely enough, Bradford did this against the Broncos.

[fishwax]

16. weird -- I wonder why the Broncos played the Colts twice that year

When you said he did it against Baltimore at home I was confused because I was sure I remembered him playing on the road against Baltimore that year. The crowd was (as expected, since Elway had forced the Colts to trade him) brutal, and Elway was so flustered that at one point he lined up behind the guard rather than the center :blush:.

So I checked the schedule to see what the deal was, and the game I remembered on the road was the second game of the season, but then the game you were talking about was the 15th game that year. They weren't in the same division, so I wonder why they played each other twice ...

[Jack Rabbit]

6. I really think that if a playoff spot is to otherwise be filled by a team at or under .500

Then the other team should draw a bye and walk through to the next round.

[trotsky]

8. Or as Gruden was saying in the booth...

the commissioner should step in and DQ that sub-.500 team from the playoffs and award their spot to another team - one with a winning record.

[dakota_democrat]

9. Getting a 7-9 team in the playoff already is a bye.

[trumad]

7. NFL West equals Big East

[TZ]

10. One point about the West

yeah it does seem to suck badly right now, but a couple of years ago the Cardinals were being called the Worst Divisional Champion Ever. And they came pretty close to winning the SB. So while I think its kinda sad that the winner of the NFC West could have a similar record as my hapless Skins, in the playoffs anything can happen. Particularly this year when a team looks like world beaters one week and then get blown out the next...

[joeybee12]

11. The world has ended, apparently...nt

[madinmaryland]

17. One game ahead of The Dallas Cowboys!

:rofl:

Nice try, Kama!

[Jack Rabbit]

18. Now that we know the Niners are nipping at the heals of the division leaders . . .

. . . can we realistically talk about their chances for a wild card spot? I mean, the team that doesn't win their division usually has a shot at being a wild card, don't they?
:crazy: