Murray, Wilson best in the West
Cards, Seahawks QBs power teams to the top
At 5-2, the Cardinals had every right to feel good about themselves during their only scheduled weekend off this football season. And if they spent part of that weekend watching football, they reported to work this week with levels of eagerness rarely found at mid-season. ● Because spending all day Sunday and Monday evening with three friends — a recliner, a remote control and a large television — revealed one thing about the current state of the NFL: Even the best teams have flaws.
Well, not all of them. The Steelers are not flawed. They have a quarterback and coach who have won Super Bowls. They have a fast, physical defense, a running game and a front office that somehow finds productive receivers in every draft.
And at 7-0, they are the only undefeated team in the NFL.
Everyone else, flawed.
OK, one more. Kansas City. The Chiefs (7-1) aren’t flawed. They look every bit as good as last season when they won the Super Bowl.
The NFC West is the best division in the NFL, not that it has a lot of competition. Its last-place team, San Francisco, is 4-4. Every other division has at least one team with a losing record.
But the four teams in the West are flawed, too. Seattle’s defense is flimsy. The Cardinals are prone to stinker performances (Detroit, Carolina). The Rams have swept the NFC East but are 1-3 against everyone else. And the 49ers can’t go a week without important players being added to the injured list, with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (ankle) and tight end George Kittle (foot) the latest. Both are expected to miss several weeks.
The Seahawks and Cardinals are the best teams in the division for one reason: both have quarterbacks who can take over games. They might not conceal all their teams blemishes, but they sure can make you care less about them.
Seattle’s Russell Wilson has been doing that for years, but never at this level. He’s the leading contender to be the league’s MVP, even though his three interceptions doomed the Seahawks two weeks ago in Glendale.
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray isn’t at that level yet. And as a passer this season, he’s been average. He’s 21st in quarterback rating, tied for 12th in touchdowns (13), 17th in yards, and only three other quarterbacks have had more passes intercepted.
But when he’s been erratic at times as a thrower, he’s compensated by being electric as a runner, gaining 437 yards and scoring seven touchdowns, fourth most in the NFL. Murray’s history, dating from last season all the way back to high school, suggests he is a more accu
rate passer than he’s shown.
If that happens over the final nine weeks, an offense that already ranks first in yards, fifth in red-zone success and ninth in scoring will produce high levels of anxiety among defensive coordinators.
Garoppolo and the Rams Jared Goff are decent quarterbacks being paid like great quarterbacks. As we’ve seen, their teams can go deep in the playoffs if other elements are in place, such as a dominating defense, but they are never going to be ones propelling postseason runs.
In a loss to the Dolphins last week, Goff passed 61 times but accounted for only one touchdown. Just two completions were for more than 20 yards.
Cardinals fans would like for Goff to play like that just once against their team. The Rams have won six straight over the Cardinals, and the average margin of victory in that streak is 23 points.
So, the Cardinals have a lot to prove when they play the Rams twice in the final five weeks of the season.
Much can change by then, of course. The Cardinals are facing a difficult three-game stretch against the Dolphins, Bills and then at Seattle on Thursday night, Nov. 19. Seattle plays the Bills, Rams and Cardinals in the next three weeks, but they have three games left against NFC East teams. The next time the Rams face an opponent currently with a losing record is Dec. 10 against the Patriots.
It’s a treacherous point in the schedule for everyone in the NFC West. Because of Murray and Wilson, I give the Cardinals and Seahawks the best chances of navigating it successfully.