Biggest Questions for EVERY NFC West team RIGHT NOW: 49ers, Seahawks, Rams, and Cardinals

Biggest Questions for EVERY NFC West team RIGHT NOW: 49ers, Seahawks, Rams, and Cardinals

Back here on HQ Spotlight, the Wild Wild NFC West continues to be a gauntlet. Despite Brock Curry missing much of the season with turf toe, it is the 49ers and M. Jones who have been at the top of this division. You see the odds there as well. Still the favorite to win at 4- one. But uh the Rams have been great. Everyone was so concerned about Matt Stafford and his back and he’s got this team at 3-2. The Seahawks sitting at 3-2 as well. Some concerns with the Cardinals. Kyler Murray a little banged up. the weird play with Jonathan Ganon last week. So, a lot of questions to get to into this division and thankfully we’ve got the fellas tapping in with us, our lead draft analyst and host of with the first pick podcast, Ryan Wilson, and our NFL writer and reporter, John Breach. And Breach, I want to start with the 49ers. We’re seeing reports where Brock Pury is expected to play, but M. Jones has been really serviceable to this point. We see them at the top of the division there, but what questions do you have about them going into this game uh against Tampa? Well, Haley, I’m glad glad you brought up Brock Party because my biggest question is, can this team stay healthy enough to beat the Buccaneers and to eventually win the NFC West? We all saw what happened to them last season. They just suffered too many injuries. They couldn’t win games. Christian McCaffrey out for most of the year. They go 6 and 11. This year, the injury bug bit them again. I don’t know what this team is doing, but they’ve been able to overcome these injuries and that’s why they’re 4- one. Now they’re in a huge NFC showdown against the Buccaneers because if you win this game, now you’re in the driver’s seat to maybe get that number one overall seed in the NFC. But there are question marks with the injuries because we don’t know how long Brock Party is going to be out. M. Jones has been great for a few weeks, but is his place sustainable? And M. Jones is kind of dealing with an injury himself, so he’s a little bit banged up. You look at George KD injured. Uh Jawan Jennings has been dealing with some injuries. They already lost Nick Bosa for the season, which brings up another question. Do you end up replacing him uh because they have so few sacks this season. So, it really comes down to can this team get healthy at the right time? And right now, it looks like they might because these guys should be coming back in the next week or two. Yep. I agree with you 100%, John. And by the way, Haley, I take issue with you calling M. Jones serviceable. M. Jones has been absolutely balling out as the uh main member, perhaps the only member of the M. Jones fan club. Uh so that said, uh Breach mentioned the name Nick Bosa, and I want to go to the defensive side of the ball because that pass rush, as Breach alluded to, has been abysmal. They’ve had one sack the last two weeks. Uh the pass rush pressure rate has gone down from 38% to 24% in the last two weeks since losing Nick Bosa. They haven’t had an interception in 12 games. So something needs to change because you can’t put everything on Matt Jones’s shoulders because uh as we’ve seen that could potentially collapse. So they have to figure out a way to generate some pass rush. They have injuries on that side of the ball as well. Mike Williams the rookie has played like a rookie. Uh everyone else virtually is just about injured on that defensive line. So Robert Solo is going to have to dial up some stuff in terms of getting pressure. Uh Fred Warner is going to have to play somehow better than he already plays. And then you’re going to have to lean on that offense when those guys get healthy that Breach was talking about including Brandon Yuk who should be back at some point. and hopefully they can sustain things until they get healthy. And to British’s last point, maybe a trade for someone like a Trey Hendrickerson. Uh because you can get Edge Rush help by the trade deadline, which is November 4th. Thank you for keeping me honest, Ryan Wilson. I I am struggling to see past M. Jones in that red and black suit. I think that’s what’s clouding my judgment on what kind of quarterback he is because I can’t get that uh image out of my head. M. Jones has been more than serviceable for the 49ers in the NFC West. Uh but so is Sam Darnold, guys. That’s where we’re going next. The Seahawks taking on the Jags Sunday 1:00 Eastern. We know that Darnold’s playing some of his best ball, but Ryan, it’s not the offense that you’re questioning here. More questions about the defense for this Seahawks secondary. Been managing some key injuries. Yeah, and it’s sort of the same story that we just had with the 49ers in the same division because Sam Darnold has been healthy and that offense has looked great. Jackson Smith and Jiggler looks like legit number one. Uh we’re going to go to the secondary this time in Seattle because they’ve been banged up. Devin Witherspoon, the former first round pick, who was an absolute baller, has been battling injuries. So has Julian Love. Reek Woolen, who had a great rookie season and has sort of had a progressive slide downward since, is struggling in a real way. And you wonder, there had been some rumors that perhaps he might be traded, and if so, who would they bring in? So, this secondary has to somehow hold down the fort over the next few weeks until they can get healthy. The good news, unlike San Francisco, they get after it with their front seven and their front four in particular. So Mike McDonald, who was the defensive coordinator in Baltimore before he got this head coaching job, has been really good about having this defense play on the same page, even though there are some shortcomings in the secondary. I want to see what the secondary looks like going forward as they try to get healthy and get those players back and relying in the meantime on that front seven to create some of that pressure. While Sam Darnold, Sam Darnold’s it up. Yeah, Ryan, Mike McDonald has made that defense look good uh since he was hired last season. One thing Mike McDonald has not been able to do though is win games at home. And so for me, that’s a big question mark for the Seahawks, can they start winning home games? We know they play at Jacksonville this week. Well, that shouldn’t be a problem for Seattle because they are 9 and1 in road games under Mike McDonald, but when you start looking at the home games on their schedule, they’re 4-8. This is a team that had Mystique at home. They were unbeatable at home at one point under Pete Carroll, won 14 straight games. haven’t been able to do it as much this year. Uh, one and two already and they have a lot of home games down the stretch, the Vikings, the Rams, the Falcons, the Colts that they are all going to need to win. So, they need to play better at home if they want to stay in playoff contention to maybe win the NFC West. You talked about that nine and one record on the road. Uh, the Seahawks have won eight straight on the road as well. That’s the longest in franchise history. So, good news, Breach. This game is on the road for them and maybe they’ll have a different outcome. I mentioned it in the leadin here. There were some concerns about Matthew Stafford and his back during the preseason. He had the epidural, but it hasn’t seemed to hinder him yet. Unfortunately though for LA Breach, special teams has, and for as special as it’s been around the league, the Rams just haven’t found that spark. The kicking has been bad. They’ve had a few block punts as well. What’s your biggest concern with that unit? Well, my biggest concern is that they have not been able to fix it and so they need to figure out how to do that because when you look at the Los Angeles Rams, this team is three and two. If their field goal unit knew how to block the opponent, they would be 5 and 0. We’re talking about a team that has had three of their kicks blocked in the fourth quarter over the past three weeks. You go back to that Eagles loss in week three. Uh they’re trying to kick a field goal to win the game. It gets blocked in return for a touchdown. and that gave one possession after they had another field goal blocked in that game. Let’s go back to the week five Thursday night loss against the 49ers. The Rams scored a touchdown that tied it at 20. They had a chance to kick an extra point to take the lead. It gets blocked. So instead of having that lead, they end up losing in overtime. So that is where your special teams has cost you two games. And that’s just something you can’t have. Most teams are aren’t going to lose one game due to their special teams. The Rams have already lost two through five weeks. So, that is something they absolutely need to get figured out because when you get later in the season and these games go down to the wire, you need to feel good when you send your kicker out there to try a field goal and not be sweating because you think that kick might be blocked. Yeah. And something a special teams group can do for you, Breach, is help your defense with field position. And that brings me to the cut and paste portion of my answer. Uh the secondary in Los Angeles, which has also struggled. Uh again, field position matters and if you get a special team sorted, that will help that unit. They’ve also battled injuries. Their safeties are pretty good. They also have the pass rush that starts with Jared Verse, of course. They have Braden Fisk and that unit has been really good. And oh, by the way, Matthew Stafer and Puka Nakua, two of the best players on the planet, so they can hold fort where they are. Uh but they need to get a little better uh in the secondary and obviously special teams breached mentioned because I don’t think the offense can continue to put up the production that we’ve seen through the first five weeks. Rams at the Ravens Sunday at one o’clock. Ryan, you’ve had your eye on all of these defenses. Uh, a lot of questions when it comes to the defensive side, but you are looking offense when it comes to the Arizona Cardinals. Look, there’s a lot of questions that we have about this team, right? Especially after what we saw on Sunday, the turmoil that has come from that drop touchdown run by Amari de Marcato. Uh, ultimately, it’s kind of left this Cardinals team, I don’t know, it feels a little empty almost. Ryan, uh, where do you point your attention to when it comes to the questions that you have about this team? Uh, Shane Styen is an 80s parent of the malls trying to corral their kids. That brings me back. Uh, so you you you struggle with the run game and that’s where I’m going. Uh, James Connor’s hurt and he’s done for the season. Trey Benson is on IR, so he’s done for four to six weeks. They have to find a run game whether it’s through Demarcado bouncing back whether it’s through Michael Carter who used to play for the Jets or maybe it’s Kyler Murray but they have to bounce back from this unforgivable loss to the Titans and do it by also finding a run game in the meantime. So that’s my biggest concern as we sit here in week six. Ryan, my biggest concern is their inability to close out these close games. The first team in NFL history to lose three straight games on field goals that came as time expired. Uh who I am Demari De Marcardo was basically the sacrificial land because of his mistake. It made you forget about everything that happened. That defense gave up three 60yard drives in the fourth quarter. The worst offense in football on Sunday in that loss to the Titans. So they have a lot of issues they need to get worked out on offense, on defense, on special teams. And until that gets figured out, I’m not sure they’re going to be able to turn the corner. It is going to be tough. And they are taking on the Colts Sunday 1:00 Eastern. Fellas, appreciate the time and the conversation. And Ryan, I’m sorry for hurting your feelings about M. Jones. He’s doing great out there. We’ll leave you with one final look at the schedule in the NFC West. We know we’ve just talked about a couple of those games coming up. The Cardinals, the Colts. How about the Colts, by the way? Uh Daniel Jones getting some MVP whispers for some of our crew. Uh interesting there. And of course, the Seahawks taking on Jacqueline’s Jaguars. Rams and Ravens. And the big one, 49ers at the Buccaneers. The Bucks the home favorite in that one.

Ryan Wilson and John Breech join CBS Sports HQ Spotlight with the biggest questions for every team in the NFC West.

(00:00) 49ers
(03:41) Seahawks
(05:58) Rams
(08:18) Cardinals

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