NFC WEST 2021 PREDICTIONS

BY ADAM GREENE

Since 2015, every single NFC West team has claimed the division at least once, with the Los Angeles Rams the only franchise to win back-to-back titles in that span. There’s also been a pretty remarkable Super Bowl run for the NFC West over the last decade, with the 49ers going twice, the Seahawks twice and the Rams once.

With that kind of firepower in the division, it’s no wonder it’s rightly considered the league’s best. It’s also why it seems no one can lay a consistent claim to it. This year, I’m thinking we’ll get a new champion once again.

So who will it be?

LOS ANGELES RAMS: 13-4

The Rams were a quarterback away from already hoisting a Vince Lombardi trophy and feel they’ve solved that issue, trading former No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff for former No. 1 overall pick Matthew Stafford. Stafford is undeniably an upgrade over Goff and considering LA should have gone 13-3 last season, losing three bad games, all due to Goff’s performances, to the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins and a 49ers team QBed by Nick Mullins.

LA has a new defensive coordinator, Raheem Morris, and he’ll have big shoes to fill as Brandon Staley crafted the No. 1 defense in the NFL in 2020. He’ll have plenty to work with, beginning with defensive lineman Aaron Donald who remains the best player in the sport, the game’s best corner in Jalen Ramsey and one of its best young corners in Darious Williams.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS: 11-6

San Francisco saw its NFC title defense falter due to injuries last season. Pretty much every important player from their Super Bowl team missed significant time, if not the full season thanks to a streak of misfortune no one could have foreseen.

With the a free season to evaluate every area of his team, head coach Kyle Shanahan decided they needed an upgrade at quarterback, trading multiple first round picks to select Trey Lance out of North Dakota State at No. 3 overall in April’s draft. Jimmy Garoppolo is still the starter for now, but honestly this projection isn’t based on that. I think they win double digit games and make the playoffs regardless if Lance gets handed the keys at some point.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: 10-7

Seattle doesn’t go from first to worst in this projection and I don’t even have them missing the playoffs, but while the Rams and 49ers actively got better this offseason (as did the Cardinals), the Seahawks remained pretty much the same. So they should expect similar results.

ARIZONA CARDINALS: 9-8

The Cardinals are a good team in a great division that just doesn’t have any space, at present, for them at the top. As mentioned above, they got significantly better on paper, adding A.J. Green on offense and J.J. Watt on defense, but those two have significant injury histories and could do more to sell jerseys than add victories. The NFC West is just too crowded this year and somebody has to be stopped at the door.

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