The 49ers just keep stacking wins, and now they’ve got a two-game cushion in the NFC West to prove it. San Francisco is 5-0 after beating the Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks, and the scariest part for the rest of the division is that this team still has room to get healthier.
For a club dealing with the injuries it has, that record is already impressive. Once those missing pieces start coming back, the ceiling gets even higher.
That’s bad news for everyone else in the division, because the Seahawks, Cardinals and Rams all lost in the same week.
Brock Purdy also stays in the MVP discussion, even if his spot on FanDuel Sportsbook has shifted. He’s now second in the odds behind Josh Allen, who moved ahead after using his legs to help the Buffalo Bills win on Monday night.
The gap is only +50, so this race is still tight. Purdy still belongs in the conversation, and if anyone wants proof, that fourth-quarter drive against Seattle is a good place to start.
Penalties nearly derailed it, but Purdy steadied things, put the 49ers in front and helped set up the late back-and-forth finish.
That 49ers-Seahawks game is still the story of the division. Two days later, it remains one of those matchups that will probably be replayed at the end of the season as one of the year’s best.
San Francisco gave up 29 points and still came away with the win, which says plenty about how nasty that defense was even without being at full strength. And that was before Nick Bosa returned.
The Niners still managed five sacks against Seattle without him. That’s a rough day for the Seahawks and a promising sign for San Francisco.
Seattle, meanwhile, has now dropped two games in three weeks, and the schedule doesn’t exactly offer relief. The Seahawks have to travel to Denver on a short week, then come home for Kansas City and Chicago.
That’s a brutal stretch. They’re not in trouble yet, but they could be if that run goes sideways.
The next meeting with the 49ers doesn’t come until Week 12, and for now Seattle sits two games back, which is a hefty gap this early.
Arizona’s afternoon went from decent to miserable in a hurry. The Cardinals opened against the Detroit Lions by forcing a three-and-out, then drove right down and grabbed a 7-0 lead with five minutes left in the first quarter.
After that, the Lions took over completely. By halftime, Detroit had turned that deficit into a 24-7 advantage, and the game kept slipping away from Arizona from there.
The Cardinals didn’t score again until late in the third quarter, long after the outcome was already settled.
The final was 45-21, and the box score was ugly for Arizona. Jacoby Brissett was sacked five times and threw an interception, while Jared Goff finished 19 for 30 for 271 yards, three touchdowns and no picks.
The Lions did put the ball on the ground three times, but recovered every one of those fumbles. In other words, virtually nothing went the Cardinals’ way.
Arizona did get some off-field news too, and not the kind that softens a loss. The Cardinals traded wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and a seventh-round pick to the Houston Texans for a second- and sixth-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
Harrison’s time in Arizona never really took off, so the Cardinals at least got something back for the fourth overall pick they used on him in 2024. He’s being viewed by some as a bust, but the combination of his college production and his family name means a change of scenery could still matter.
Either way, Arizona is worse off in 2026 after the move, and Harrison is now with DeMeco Ryans.
The Rams are sitting at 2-3, and that record has a very different feel after a week that could have gone their way. Their only wins have come against the New York Giants, who were forced to turn to a backup quarterback in the first quarter, and the Philadelphia Eagles, who have their own issues.
Against Buffalo, the Rams nearly pulled it out. They tied the game at 34-34 late in regulation, and with the Bills getting the ball first in overtime, it looked like Buffalo might answer quickly.
Instead, James Cook put the ball on the ground, and everything changed.
That turnover handed the Rams a short path back into the game, and they quickly moved against Buffalo’s shaky defense to set up the winning field goal. It was a wild finish, and Josh Allen’s late scramble after the turnover is a big reason he has nudged ahead of Purdy in the MVP odds. Once Buffalo got the ball back, it became Allen against the Rams defense, and he did enough to get the Bills into range and close it out.
For San Francisco fans, that result was a gift. It gave the Rams another loss and deepened the uphill climb they face just to get into the postseason picture, never mind anything beyond that.
The game itself was entertaining, if messy. If that ends up being a Super Bowl preview, that’s a little unsettling.
Week 6 brings another round in the division. The 49ers host the Washington Commanders, a game that some viewers saw bleed over from the Commanders’ tie with the New York Giants because of overtime running into the San Francisco-Seattle broadcast.
That tie came after some bad clock management in the final seconds, and now the 49ers are favored by a touchdown. San Francisco will be hoping for a calmer afternoon.
Seattle’s quick turnaround sends it to Denver for Thursday Night Football. The Broncos are 3-2 and trying to keep pace with Kansas City, and playing in Mile High should make this one worth watching. A Broncos win would be a big help to the 49ers.
As for the Rams and Cardinals, they meet in Los Angeles. Even with the Rams involved, Arizona isn’t much of a draw, so the game lands in the afternoon window on Sunday. The NFC West race has already tilted San Francisco’s way, and another Cardinals loss would only make the Rams’ path harder.
In Other News...
Former Levis Stadium Executive Faces Serious Corruption Accusations
James Mercurio, the former general manager of Levis Stadium, is now at the center of a criminal case that has sent a jolt through Bay Area sports and civic circles. Prosecutors say he and Michael McLennan, a longtime friend, were involved in a scheme tied to contracts for a San Mateo County nonprofit, with charges that include misuse of public funds, embezzlement and multiple counts of bribery.
The allegations suggest contracts were steered through that nonprofit arrangement in exchange for financial benefits, adding another layer to the scrutiny already surrounding the former stadium executive. Both men have pleaded not guilty and were released on bail as the case moves forward, leaving the 49ers' old stadium leadership structure under an uncomfortable spotlight. [Read more 🡒]
Tom Bradys Seahawks Call Is Going To Divide Fans
Tom Bradys third season as Fox Sports lead NFL analyst has already brought plenty of scrutiny, and his call during the 49ers-Seahawks game added another layer. While breaking down the action, Brady weighed in on a sequence involving Sam Darnold and Dre Greenlaw, along with other plays from the matchup, giving viewers the sort of pointed, high-profile analysis that tends to travel fast once the broadcast ends.
The moment is likely to linger because the game itself already had an edge, with Greenlaw drawing a late-hit flag before later being ejected after a headbutt incident involving Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones. Bradys comment on Darnolds reaction after the hit near the sideline only sharpened the discussion, and for 49ers fans, it is the kind of offhand television take that can turn a routine game broadcast into a fresh postgame argument. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Escaped Seattle Chaos Thanks To An Unlikely Group Stepping Up
Seattle offered the kind of mess that can swallow a road team whole, and the 49ers spent plenty of Sunday trying to keep their footing. Special teams mistakes piled up, Dre Greenlaw was ejected, and the game had enough chaos to test every layer of San Franciscos roster. Still, the team found enough steadiness from a handful of important contributors to walk out with its unbeaten NFC West mark intact.
What made the difference was not a perfect performance from the usual stars, but a group effort that kept Brock Purdy from getting buried in the noise. San Francisco leaned on unexpected sources for production and, for all the sloppiness around them, those players gave the 49ers just enough balance to survive a game that could have slipped away. [Read more 🡒]