The NFC West is already looking like a two-team race.
San Francisco’s blowout of Miami pushed the 49ers to 2-0, and they’ve already picked up a divisional win. Seattle matched that mark, also moving to 2-0 with one win inside the division, after handling Arizona. For now, the 49ers and Seahawks are tied at the top, and the first meeting between them doesn’t come until October 11 in Seattle.
That matchup could end up telling us plenty. The Seahawks are doing this without their starting quarterback, while San Francisco is operating without some of its wide receivers.
Different problems, same result: both teams look fully capable in 2026. After Arizona, the 49ers will host Denver and then head to Seattle, which means they’ll get back-to-back tests against decent defenses.
If San Francisco keeps putting up 30, the picture gets a lot clearer in a hurry.
Seattle’s latest win came after a slow burn against Arizona. The Cardinals hung around until the third quarter, helped in part by a second-quarter Jadarian Price fumble that went nowhere, plus empty possessions for both teams late in the half. Then the Seahawks took control and ripped off 24 unanswered points with three touchdowns and a field goal.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba was at the center of it. He had a touchdown in the first half, then added two more scores in the third quarter and finished with nine catches for 155 yards. Seattle rolled to a 31-7 win and locked in that divisional victory to stay level with San Francisco.
Drew Lock also did his part backing up that offense. He went 19-of-26 for 235 yards, three touchdowns, and a 138.1 passer rating. If the absence of Sam Darnold was supposed to drag the Seahawks down, that theory didn’t hold up.
The Rams took care of business too, though the day turned strange almost immediately for the Giants. Jackson Dart left on the first offensive series, reportedly with an MCL sprain, and Jameis Winston stepped in from there. What followed was a rough afternoon for New York: Winston completed 11 of 27 passes for 111 yards with one interception and no touchdowns in a 28-6 Rams win.
Los Angeles got plenty of help from its defense, even if the Giants had chances to make it interesting. New York’s defense forced an interception and a fumble, but it’s tough to capitalize when your quarterback situation is collapsing around you.
The Rams, meanwhile, made the most of the matchup. Matthew Stafford threw for 327 yards on 22-of-31 passing with four touchdowns and one interception, while Kyren Williams and Blake Corum combined for 163 rushing yards.
The Rams got the win, but the injury situation around them keeps the focus a little different.
Looking ahead to Week 3, San Francisco has a shot to grab the division lead back when Arizona comes to town. The Cardinals already beat the Chargers and stayed within reach of Seattle until the third quarter, so this won’t be a soft landing.
The 49ers are favored by more than a touchdown, but the Cardinals have a history of making life difficult for them. If San Francisco gets to 3-0 and 2-0 in the division, that would give them some real breathing room later on.
Seattle gets Washington next, and the Commanders are already in a bad spot at 0-2. They also lost Jayden Daniels on Sunday to a dislocated elbow, so his availability for Sunday is in doubt. That leaves the Seahawks heading across the country to face a likely backup quarterback.
The Rams draw the Eagles.
In Other News...
49ers WR Injuries Could Force A Trade For Former First Rounder
Early-season injuries have already thinned out the 49ers receiver room, and that kind of problem tends to get attention fast in Santa Clara. When the depth chart starts wobbling at wideout, the conversation usually turns from short-term patch jobs to bigger swings, especially for a team that expects to stay in the playoff hunt and cant afford to let a promising start get bogged down by attrition.
One name now floating into that discussion is Jerry Jeudy, with Bleacher Reports Moe Moton pointing to the Browns as a possible trade partner. Clevelands new coaching staff is leaning into younger players, and Jeudys role and production have both faded enough to make a deal conceivable if the price is right. For San Francisco, it is the sort of move that makes sense on paper, even if the real question is whether the 49ers feel pressure to act before the market gets thinner. [Read more 🡒]
Brock Purdy Led A 49ers Rout But The Grades Get More Interesting
Brock Purdys sharp afternoon in the 49ers 35-13 win over the Dolphins carried over into the numbers game, too. Pro Football Focus handed him the highest overall offensive grade in the NFL for Week 2 after he completed 20 of 22 passes for 287 yards, threw two touchdowns and added a rushing score, all while San Franciscos line kept him clean and did not allow a sack.
The grading also painted a fuller picture of how the offense functioned around him, with George Kittle standing out in the receiving evaluation and Kyle Juszczyk earning his usual value in the mix. Not every name landed as high, though, and the split in the grades makes the review of this rout a little more interesting for a 49ers team that looked dominant on the scoreboard but still gave PFF plenty to sort through. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Fan Captured The NFL Streaming Frustration Everyone Feels
At Levis Stadium during the 49ers home opener, one fan managed to turn a handmade sign into a small but sharp snapshot of a bigger problem around the NFLs modern viewing experience. The message spoke to what has become an increasingly familiar annoyance for fans trying to follow games online, where access is split across multiple platforms instead of sitting in one place.
Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, Paramount+ and Netflix have all become part of the leagues fragmented streaming landscape, and each one comes with its own subscription hurdle. The sign struck a chord because it reflected a frustration many viewers know well, the sense that watching football digitally now requires more juggling, more spending and a lot more patience than it used to. [Read more 🡒]