We\u2019re just days away from the start of the NFL season, and the spirit of rivalry is in the air.<\/p>\n
With new \u201crivalry\u201d uniforms in tow and just days from the first game \u2014 and first NFC West matchup \u2014 of the season, it had me thinking: How do the 49ers stack up with their division rivals?<\/p>\n
This might be the best division in football this season in 2025 \u2014 you can easily convince me of any order, one through four, at the end of the season.<\/p>\n
And while the 49ers have the best odds to win the West, they\u2019re not far ahead of their peers. In fact, with some of the year-over-year improvements their rivals have made, this could prove to be the Niners\u2019 toughest six-game division slate in the Kyle Shanahan era.<\/p>\n
So how can the Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks, and Los Angeles Rams beat the 49ers?<\/p>\n
And how can the 49ers beat them?<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s put it all on paper before the chaos commences:<\/p>\n
Arizona Cardinals<\/p>\n
Why the Cardinals can beat the 49ers<\/p>\n
Early season Kyler Murray \u00bb The diminutive Cardinals quarterback is great at the beginning of seasons, but as soon as he takes a few hits, he fades, as he stops running and becomes a (diminutive) pocket passer. Will he turn in before Week 11?<\/p>\n
Built to kill \u00bb Head coach Jonathan Gannon\u2019s defense was built to destroy outsize zone runs. The Cardinals will show a five-man front, mixing linebackers, ends, tackles, and even safeties to close off the edge, with safety Budda Baker playing, in essence, a free-roaming Mike linebacker behind it. This is the Vikings\u2019 chaos defense (remember how the Niners struggled with that?) with more structure. And this year, they have the dudes to execute at a top-10 level.<\/p>\n
The talent is there \u00bb Let me know if you can tackle James Conner. The Niners are looking for someone who can. He now has a capable backup in Trey Benson. Add in tight end Trey McBride (and his solid backup Tip Reiman) and the theoretical breakout for wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr, plus an offensive line that boasts solid tackles in Paris Johnson and Jonah Williams and you have the deepest Cardinals team in a long, long time.<\/p>\n
Why the 49ers can beat the Cardinals<\/p>\n
Harrison might not break out \u00bb The Ohio State product decided to get ripped this offseason. I don\u2019t think that was the problem, Marv. Will Arizona start throwing to him over the middle of the field or will the Cardinals offense still be stuck at mediocre at best? And if they make the necessary changes to the offense, will Harrison take advantage?<\/p>\n
No explosive plays \u00bb The Cardinals were last in drives per game last year, and if they did not create explosive plays in the pass game \u2014 as in not getting any YAC whatsoever. This Arizona offense needs a schematic overhaul.<\/p>\n
Baker\u2019s men \u00bb If Baker is out, there\u2019s no reasonable replacement for him and the Cardinals defense looks rather pedestrian. Arizona has excellent players on that side of the ball, but he is their everything.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Rams<\/p>\n
Why the Rams can beat the 49ers<\/p>\n
A better coach \u00bb There are two teams in the league who can say, for certain, they have a head coaching and offensive coordinator advantage over the 49ers. One is the Chiefs, led by Andy Reid. The other is the Rams. Sean McVay\u2019s aggressive pragmatism is the model for success in the NFL, which is why when the Rams do something one year, the 49ers seem to copy it the next. There will never be a game where the Rams are unprepared or predictable \u2014 it\u2019s merely a question of the quality of roster between these teams. That can be a toss-up either way this season.<\/p>\n
Chris Shula is outstanding \u00bb Don\u2019t sleep on the defensive coordinator, either. He has ushered a young defense to the point of competency, and he\u2019s been feeding them a steady diet of Cover 6 and Cover 8 looks that absolutely flummox offenses. These kids are now experts on those schemes.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s still a Big Four \u00bb Quarterback Matt Stafford has a new weapon in Davonte Adams, who still has it, folks. Add in Puka Nakua and Kyren Williams and it\u2019s as good a four-man skill-position grouping as anyone has in the league. Yes, including a healthy 49ers.<\/p>\n
Why the 49ers can beat the Rams<\/p>\n
Is Stafford alive? \u00bb | Jimmy Garoppolo isn\u2019t beating anyone these days. Meanwhile, Stafford spent August in an oxygenated Airstream, sitting on a vibrating table with red lights above him, all in the effort to have his back \u201cheal\u201d enough to be able to play. No, I\u2019m not kidding.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m sure the Texans\u2019 hard-hitting defense will respect Stafford\u2019s wishes in Week 1 and keep his lumbar discs in place. Luckily the Rams have a great offensive line\u2026 wait, what\u2019s that now?<\/p>\n
An embarrassing secondary \u00bb There\u2019s a lot to like about the Rams\u2019 defensive front four. (The Rams don\u2019t care about linebackers, so we won\u2019t say front seven.) Behind them? Whooo buddy. That might be the worst secondary in the NFL. The scheme can only cover up so much. If that pass rush isn\u2019t elite, quarterbacks will have a field day against them.<\/p>\n
George Kittle \u00bb Who is going to guard him on the Rams? I eagerly await your answer. \/\/Dies of old age<\/p>\n
Seattle Seahawks<\/p>\n
Why the Seahawks can beat the 49ers<\/p>\n
Merry Christmas \u00bb Do you remember Christmas 2023? I certainly do. What a colossal waste of time it was, as the Baltimore Ravens defense came to Levi\u2019s Stadium and put Brock Purdy in a blender. The defensive coordinator of that Ravens team was Mike McDonald and he, even more so than Gannon, has a defensive scheme built to kill a Kyle Shanahan offense. In his second year in Seattle, he has the dudes to execute that scheme now.<\/p>\n
The Seahawks\u2019 defensive line is outstanding, particularly in the middle, and their secondary is versatile and dangerous. They\u2019re going to throw the kitchen sink at the 49ers\u2019 offense and with this kind of talent, and that could make games could look like Christmas 2023.<\/p>\n
Darnold Time \u00bb And the Seahawks\u2019 new quarterback might just have time, as the Seattle offensive line looks like it could be competent for the first time in a decade. Rookie Grey Zabel looked great at left guard in preseason and Jalen Sundell (a fellow NDSU Buffalo) is a plus center \u2014 something this team has lacked for a long time. In the preseason, this five-man unit was creating massive holes in the run game and nice protection inside a Klint Kubiak passing attack.<\/p>\n
Darnold has some death-or-glory to his game, but he should be behind a better offensive line in Seattle than he was in Minnesota. What does that look like? The Niners probably don\u2019t want to find out.<\/p>\n
JSN \u00bb Jaxon Smith Njigba put up serious stats despite being used in uncreative, unremarkable ways last season. Now he\u2019s in an offensive that will move him around the formation, seeking mismatches. Think Amon Ra St. Brown, folks. Paired with a running back room that goes three deep and a sneaky good tight end roster, and the Seahawks should be able to move the ball by air or ground.<\/p>\n
Why the 49ers can beat the Seahawks<\/p>\n
Hype hurts \u00bb If you can\u2019t tell, I\u2019m buying the Hawks in 2025. I might also be a year early. Or maybe that year never comes. Hope is for fools. But while I think this team is poised to break out, it has the same issue as the Niners \u2014 a lack of usable depth. Injuries could ravage Seattle the same way it could take down San Francisco (or the Rams, or the Cardinals \u2014\u00a0my goodness, might everyone in this division go 9-8?)<\/p>\n
WR 2 \u00bb Tory Horton is the hipster rookie of the preseason, but he might not be ready to be the teams\u2019 No. 2 wide receiver. Jake Bobo might not stand up to the scrutiny, either. And what is Cooper Kupp in 2025 besides kind of depressing to watch? JSN is awesome, but at a certain point he\u2019ll need help.<\/p>\n
LBs in Space \u00bb The Seahawks\u2019 linebackers are outstanding in the run game, but they are not particularly good moving backwards \u2014 the thing a classic Shanahan attack wants to make them do. Can San Francisco (or anyone else) tap into the vintage under-center, play-action game enough to exploit this against what might be the best defense in football? We\u2019ll find out Week 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We\u2019re just days away from the start of the NFL season, and the spirit of rivalry is in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":326620,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2080],"tags":[220,7,1921,3171,6,1161,252,2624,2623,9,2833],"class_list":{"0":"post-326619","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco-49ers","8":"tag-49ers","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-inside-sports","11":"tag-inside-the-san-francisco-49ers","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-san-francisco","14":"tag-san-francisco-49ers","15":"tag-sanfrancisco","16":"tag-sanfrancisco49ers","17":"tag-sports","18":"tag-sports-columnists"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115112482494348905","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326619\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/326620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}