The St. Louis Rams and the Seattle Seahawks both won, and the San Francisco 49ers and the Carolina Panthers both lost—from Week 13's scores it looks like the de facto leaders of the much-maligned NFC West might finally find some separation from the NFC West have-nots. The St. Louis Rams took out the Arizona Cardinals 19-6 in a game that was marked by less-than-perfect quarterback play, although the Cardinals needed three quarterbacks to put together their final line of 11-29 with 148 yards passing, two interceptions, and a fumble.
↵Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks briefly fell behind the Carolina Panthers, who led 14-3 at the half, but finally got to Jimmy Clausen. After that it was all Seahawks; they scored 28 unanswered points in the second half to win 31-14, and maintain their tie with the Rams atop the West. This is a good morale boost—at least now the leaders in our division aren't under .500. Marshawn Lynch finished with 83 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while Clausen, back in the starting role, finished the game 18-for-34 with 169 yards passing and one interception, which was returned for a touchdown.
↵The San Francisco 49ers saw the first NFC West action of the day, falling to the Green Bay Packers 34-16 in a Lambeau Field game that was never in doubt. The Smith du jour—that's still Troy Smith—got them to 14-13 with a minute left in the first half, throwing a pass to Vernon Davis that led to a 66-yard touchdown. But Aaron Rodgers threw two third quarter touchdowns to get the Packers up 28-16—thanks in part to an outstanding performance from Donald Driver—and Mason Crosby iced the game with two fourth quarter field goals. The 49ers fall to 4-8, still alone in third place in the NFC West.
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