NFC West Preview: San Francisco 49ers look to bounce back
It's a two-team contest in the NFC West between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks. The 49ers have a -160 chance to defend the NFC West title, while the Seahawks, the 49ers' closest rival, have a +195 chance to win the division.
The Los Angeles Rams (+1000) and Arizona Cardinals (+2500) have a good chance to win the NFC West, but both are projected to have losing seasons.
Since 2014, every team in the NFC West has won at least one division title. Their last title defense was in 2014, when the Seahawks won back-to-back division titles.
The competitive NFC West has sent six division-champion teams to the Super Bowl since 2012, including two championship teams in the 2013 Seahawks and 2021 Rams.
The NFC West champion has also advanced to the NFC Championship nine times since 2011. Since 2013, two teams from the NFC West have participated in the NFC Championship Game.
Last year, two NFC West teams advanced to the playoffs. The 49ers faced the Seahawks on Wild Card Weekend, and the 49ers won. The 49ers won two playoff games before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship.
San Francisco 49ers: Super Bowl or Bust
- NFC West Odds: -160
- Super Bowl Odds: 1000
- 2022 Record: 13-4
- 2023 Win Total: 10.5 o/u
The 49ers experienced a wave of quarterback injuries last season. Starter Trey Lance suffered a broken right ankle in Week 2.Jimmy Garoppolo broke his foot in December, forcing rookie quarterback Brock Purdy to make a move.
Purdy helped the 49ers win the division title and led them to two playoff victories. The 49ers' season ended in disappointment when Purdy suffered a serious elbow injury midway through the first quarter of the NFC Championship game.
The 49ers are seeking back-to-back division titles for the first time since the 2011 and 2012 seasons. As the No. 4 team on the DraftKings NFL Futures Committee, they have a +1000 chance to win the Super Bowl. Their odds of winning the NFC Championship are +400, which puts them in second place overall, behind the Eagles (+250).
Running back Christian McCaffery will have a chance to play his first full season with the 49ers after joining them via a trade last November.
The 49ers named Purdy, who is fully recovered, as the Week 1 starter. Sam Darnold signed with the team this offseason and will assume backup quarterback duties. Lance was expected to compete with Purdy for the starting job, but he was demoted to the third line before the 49ers traded him to the Dallas Cowboys for a fourth-round draft pick.
In 2021, the 49ers traded three first-round picks and a third-round pick to the Miami Dolphins to advance in the 2021 NFL Draft and select Lance with the third overall pick. After two disappointing seasons, the 49ers traded Lance for a fourth-rounder.
Seattle Seahawks: Setback or real threat?
- NL West Odds: 195
- Super Bowl Odds: 3000
- 2022 Record: 9-8
- 2023 Win Total: 10.5 o/u
After trading quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos, prognosticators expected the Seahawks to be one of the NFC's worst teams last season. The Seahawks enter the 2022 season with a total of 5.5 wins.
Backup quarterback Geno Smith earned the starting job and shut up the so-called experts with a spectacular performance. Smith was named the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year and led the Seahawks to a 9-8 record and an NFC Wild Card berth.
The Seahawks were a sleeper team last season, but this season they're the one on everyone's lips. If you pay close attention to win totals, you'll see that the Seahawks and 49ers are projected to have the same 10.5 win/loss. Still, the 49ers are the consensus favorite to win the division, with odds of -160, while the Seahawks are at +195.
The offense is complemented by two outstanding receivers: DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. The Seahawks also selected Jaxon Smith-Ngiba, who is considered one of the best rookie wide receivers in the draft. Smith-Ngiba suffered a setback when he broke his wrist in the preseason and had to undergo surgery. The Seahawks believe Smith-Njigbu can still be ready when they host the Rams in Week 1.
According to DraftKings’ proprietary betting, the Seahawks are -120 to make the playoffs and +100 to miss them.
The Seahawks benefit from playing their home games in Seattle's Lumen Field, the loudest stadium in the NFL. Non-division home games this season include the Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers. Only one of these teams had a winning record last season.
Los Angeles Rams: McVay’s rebuilding year
- NFC West Odds: 1000
- Super Bowl Odds: +8000
- 2022 Record: 5-12
- 2023 Win Total: 6.5 o/u
The Rams are suffering a brutal hangover in 2022 after winning the Super Bowl last season. The Rams had such a bad record that they missed the playoffs with a 5-12 record. Injuries plague the Rams in 2022. They lost Super Bowl MVP and one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, Cooper Kupp, to a season-ending ankle injury last November. Quarterback Matthew Stafford missed eight games with multiple concussions and a spinal cord injury.
Kupp and Stafford looked healthy during training camp, but the Rams are in a rebuilding year. Sean McVay will have to pull out all the stops to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time in his head coaching career.
The Rams have an overall winning percentage of 6.5 o/u as they face a difficult schedule and an early start to their first nine games. They could start the season with a 1-4 record and could very well go into the bye week with a 3-6 record.If the Rams can finish the season on a high note, they could surpass their original win total.
The Rams have a +1000 chance to win the NFC West and a solid chance to win the Super Bowl at +8000 odds.
Arizona Cardinals: CTRL+ALT+DEL
- NFC West Odds: +2500
- Super Bowl Odds: 20000
- 2022 Record: 4-13
- 2023 Win Total: 4.5 o/u
The Cardinals are under a new regime after firing head coach Kliff Kingsbury in January and resigning general manager Steve Keim.
Monty Ossenfort became the new general manager and Jonathan Gannon was hired to replace Kingsbury as head coach. Gannon served as the Eagles' defensive coordinator the past two seasons and led them to Super Bowl 57. The Cardinals also have a new offensive coordinator in Drew Petzing, who served as the Cleveland Browns' quarterbacks coach last season.
Quarterback Kyler Murray suffered a torn ACL last December and is expected to miss the start of the season. There is no timetable for Murray's return and the Cardinals are in no rush to get him back as they are in the early stages of their restart.
Colt McCoy is expected to be the starter, but Gannon and Petzing don't have 100% confidence in the veteran backup. The Cardinals acquired Joshua Dobbs in a trade with the Browns to bolster their quarterback room. Dobbs needs to get familiar with the playbook, but he could challenge McCoy for the starting job.
The Cardinals won four games last season, and only the Chicago Bears (3-14) have the worst record in 2022. The Cardinals' outlook is once again bleak as they are projected to finish last in the NFC West for consecutive seasons with a combined win percentage of 4.5 games.
The Cardinals have a huge lead at +2,500 to win the NFC West and an astronomical +20,000 to win the Super Bowl.
Read also:
- Games Industry Research: Carbon Emissions of Top Video Games
- U.S. cities with the most Swifties per capita
- Blackjack Casino Advantage: How to Beat the Odds
- Football 101: What is relegation in football?
Source: www.casino.org
