With Week 9 in the books, the San Francisco 49ers' vice grip on the NFC West has only strengthened. The Niners (6-2) quietly squeaked by the Washington Redskins by the score of 19-11 on Sunday, but a win is a win, especially for a West Coast team playing an early game out East.
After San Francisco, it gets ugly. The Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals currently sit tied for second at 2-6, which is thanks to Seattle's 23-13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona's thrilling 19-13 victory over the St. Louis Rams. The Rams, fresh off of throttling the New Orleans Saints, fall to 1-7 after the aforementioned loss in the desert. As long as Jim Harbaugh doesn't abruptly resign from the Niners in order to coach one of the other teams in the NFC West as some sort of holiday charity, it seems likely that San Francisco is going to cruise to the division title. Here's how the standings look heading into Week 10:
- San Francisco 49ers: 7-1
- Seattle Seahawks: 2-6
- Arizona Cardinals: 2-6
- St. Louis Rams: 2-6