NFC West Week 4 review: Cardinals lead division thanks to NFL’s top scoring offense

One month into the season, it’s clear that the NFC West has some of the most high-powered offenses around the league. After four weeks, the Arizona Cardinals are now alone on top of the division with a 4-0 record.

Here’s what happened around the NFC West this week.

Cardinals (4-0) beat Rams (3-1), 37-20

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This team has a multitude of weapons they can beat you with. This week, the Cards had five players go for over 50 yards from scrimmage, including a huge line from Chase Edmonds, who posted 120 yards on 12 carries.

Heading into Week 5, Arizona leads the NFL in scoring, averaging 35 points per game. Defensively, they’re getting big contributions from young pieces like Byron Murphy and Isaiah Simmons.

Next up, the Cards host the 49ers.

Rams (3-1) come back down to earth

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After looking unstoppable the first three weeks of the season, Rams QB Matt Stafford had an off-game. He only completed 26 of 41 attempts and threw an interception, bringing his passer rating down to a mediocre 89.5. Head coach Sean McVay is also taking some heat for some questionable decisions he made on fourth down. They did get strong performances from Van Jefferson (90 yards, one touchdown) and Darrell Henderson, though.

LA visits the Seahawks next.

Seahawks (2-2) beat 49ers (2-2), 28-21

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This victory should go a long way towards easing the fears of 12s who were worried their team would crash after blowing two leads in a row. Russell Wilson’s unmatched ability to create something out of nothing always gives them a chance to compete, even when everything seems to be going wrong.

This is hardly news, though. The more encouraging development was the performance of Seattle’s secondary. Safeties Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs and Ryan Neal all played exceptionally well and made clutch stops. If the cornerbacks can catch up, this might just be a contender after all.

49ers (2-2) lost Jimmy Garoppolo

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This had to be a disheartening loss for the Niners on a number of levels, especially after dominating most of the first half. Not only did they lose a winnable division game at home, Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a calf injury and is expected to miss at least a few weeks. Trey Lance clearly has plenty of speed and arm strength to spare, but he’s also still very raw and it will be tough for the Niners offense to keep pace with Garoppolo out.

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