The wild cards
10. San Francisco 49ers (1-1, No. 18) 11. Minnesota Vikings (1-1, No. 6) 12. New Orleans Saints (1-1, No. 12) 13. Denver Broncos (1-1, No. 13) 14. Arizona Cardinals (1-1, No. 19)
The 49ers’ decision to keep Jimmy Garoppolo looks pretty good now, doesn’t it? After second-year quarterback Trey Lance suffered a season-ending ankle injury, the veteran stepped in to lead San Francisco to a 27-7 win over the Seahawks, completing 13 of 21 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown and sneaking in for a score. In six seasons under coach Kyle Shanahan, Garoppolo is 31-14 as the starter, while all other 49ers quarterbacks are 9-29 in that span. This team is built to win now, and while Garoppolo was benched in favor of the 2021 No. 3 overall pick to start the season, he’s proven he’s good enough to lead San Francisco to the Super Bowl. Losing a player with Lance’s potential is tough to swallow, but it might end up helping the 49ers in the short term.
Things haven’t gone as planned for the team Garoppolo and the 49ers face on Sunday night, either. Russell Wilson lost his return to Seattle in part because of new coach Nathaniel Hackett’s head-scratching decision to attempt a 64-yard field goal instead of letting Wilson — the man Denver traded three players and five draft picks for and gave $165 million guaranteed — try and convert a fourth-and-5 with 20 seconds left. In Sunday’s sloppy 16-9 win over the Texans, the Broncos struggled so much getting the snap off in time that the Denver crowd started counting down the play clock. It’s only been two games, but Hackett already looks overwhelmed, and his offense isn’t delivering on its promise. To make matters worse, cornerback Patrick Surtain and receiver Jerry Jeudy are dealing with injuries. Denver needs to get its act together, and quickly.
The Cardinals finally seem to have their act together, but it took seven quarters to get there. Trailing 23-7 entering the fourth quarter Sunday, Arizona scored 16 straight points — including two wild 2-point conversions by quarterback Kyler Murray — to force overtime, where cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. returned a fumble by Raiders receiver Hunter Renfrow 59 yards for the game-winning touchdown. The win doesn’t let coach Kliff Kingsbury and a disappointing defense off the hook, but it at least provides some hope that Murray can put the team on his back. We won’t get a fair assessment of the Cardinals until receiver DeAndre Hopkins returns from his six-game suspension, but it’s clear Murray needs more help.