5 Burning Questions Facing The NFC West
Will 49ers' Good Fortune Continue, Do Seahawks Have Enough Firepower, and are the Arizona Cardinals Primed to Arrive?
The NFC West is consistently among the more competitive divisions in the NFL, even though the San Francisco 49ers enter the 2024 season as two-time defending champions.
However, Sean McVay’s Los Angeles Rams, a new era in Seattle and the arrival of a potentially franchise-altering weapon in Arizona are the backdrop for an upcoming campaign that may be the 49ers’ most daunting climb yet back to what would be a third Super Bowl berth in the past six seasons.
Here’s a look at five burning questions facing the NFC West in 2024:
San Francisco 49ers: What Happens if Injury Bug Keeps Nibbling?
Not enough is made of the 49ers’ run of success over the past half-decade.
San Francisco has appeared in two of the past five Super Bowls and reached the NFC Championship Game every year since 2020, when the 49ers missed the playoffs entirely following a Super Bowl loss to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan has guided the 49ers to the doorstep of hoisting the Lombardi twice in half a decade with Jimmy Garoppolo and Brock Purdy at quarterback, but San Francisco has also benefitted from being extremely fortunate from an injury standpoint.
Good pal, and road buddy, Aaron Schatz points out that the 49ers were the fourth-healthiest team when it comes to man games lost last season.
So, what if the injury bug has started to nibble?
What happens in San Francisco if Dre Greenlaw’s torn Achilles tendon in the Super Bowl becomes a pendulum swing?
Christian McCaffrey is already dinged up this training camp, and will miss the preseason due to a calf injury. Deebo Samuel has missed six games the past two seasons and could be expected to take on a more significant role with even more touches if Brandon Aiyuk winds up traded, and Trent Williams is entering his 36-year-old season and hasn’t played a full slate since the Barack Obama Presidency.
This is arguably the deepest and most talented roster in the league with a head coach who is one of the sport’s brightest minds. It is just fair to wonder what happens if circumstances reverse and the 49ers are forced to navigate a season where star power is dinged and depth is tested. We have yet to see it over the past five years, but may be about to find out.
Arizona Cardinals: Can Marvin Harison Jr. Turn Kyler Murray Into a Franchise Quarterback?
Typically, franchise quarterbacks make the players around them better, but in the case of Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals, the 27-year-old may finally have the opportunity to reach his full potential thanks to the arrival of a potentially generational talent into his supporting cast.
While it is true that Murray made a tangible impact on Arizona’s offense last season, leading three of the Cardinals’ four victories over his eight starts after returning from a torn ACL, Marvin Harrison Jr.’s presence sets the stage for a potentially make-or-break campaign for Murray as a franchise quarterback.
Harrison Jr., the 6-foot-4 and 209-pound dynamo capable of altering the outcome of games against the most elite of defenses, lands in the desert off a 1,211-yard and 14-touchdown campaign at Ohio State where he averaged 18.1 yards per reception has the potential to make a transformative impact on the Cardinals’ vertical passing game.
As Pro Football Focus points out, Harrison Jr.’s 598 deep yards ranked fifth among college receivers last season, his 15 deep catches ranked third, and his 3.44 yards per route run were among the best in class.
Given that Murray averaged just 3.5 air yards per attempt during the 2022 campaign, it will be fascinating to see how Harrison Jr. changes the Cardinals’ scheme and if he can elevate his quarterback to heights previously unreached in the season ahead.
Los Angeles Rams: Who Replaces Aaron Donald, and Not Just Top Stats?
The Los Angeles Rams will look to replace a Hall of Famer this fall.
Aaron Donald walked away from football, but he didn't limp across the finish line of his career. The Rams will need to replace eight sacks and 53 total tackles, marking the fourth-most productive season of his career.
Nothing against Bobby Brown and Cory Durden, but I'm not entirely certain where the interior pass-rush presence will come from. How defensive coordinator Chris Shula adjusts the Rams' approach to bringing the heat will be an interesting early-season storyline to watch unfold.
Donald is more than his 111 career sacks and game-altering presence; he was a pillar of a locker room culture that has been central to this era of Rams' success, including two Super Bowl berths and a Lombardi Trophy delivered to Burbank.
As my pal and esteemed analyst Doug Farrar explains, Kobie Turner and his nine sacks as a rookie give him the chance to be the next man up along Los Angeles’ defensive line.
However, who emerges as the leader who powers the Rams’ defense and keeps the team steady when adversity strikes may prove more important to Los Angeles' hopes of challenging the 49ers in the NFC West and making another Super Bowl run.
Seattle Seahawks: Is it Possible to Compete Without Elite QB Play?
Geno Smith has experienced a late-career renaissance since arriving in Seattle.
Over the past two seasons, Smith has passed for 7,906 yards with 50 touchdowns and 20 interceptions, leading an offense powered by explosive running back Kenneth Walker III. Downfield playmakers D.K. Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and veteran Tyler Lockett form one of the most complete and well-rounded receiving trios in the league.
Yet, despite all these weapons, the Seahawks’ ceiling may be lower than it should be with Smith behind center. Seattle posted matching 9-8 records over the past two seasons and hasn't beaten the rival 49ers since 2021.
Mike MacDonald’s arrival as head coach should prioritize a defense that has quickly developed a reputation as a sort of Legion of Boom redux. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb also had significant success at the University of Washington. Still, the Seahawks, in my estimation, represent a fascinating character study in whether it is possible to win in the NFL—and win big—by playing a physical brand of defensive football combined with a smash-mouth ground attack on offense without a top-flight quarterback.
We may be about to find out.
Will the 49ers Finally Bust the Curse of Super Bowl Loser?
Let’s be honest for a second.
The San Francisco 49ers are the clear-cut frontrunner not just in this division but potentially to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl — alongside perhaps the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers. And, maybe, to a lesser extent, the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles.
Since the turn of the century, 10 teams that lost the Super Bowl missed the playoffs the following season. However, the good news for San Francisco is that in the last six seasons, three teams that returned to the postseason after losing the Super Bowl made it to the conference championship game. Notably, the New England Patriots even won the Super Bowl the year after losing to the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII.
A balanced roster built around an offense loaded with some of the premier players at their position across the sport backed by a dominant, stingy, and swarming defense will always be a winning formula.
Whether head coach Kyle Shanahan’s team can withstand the mental rigors of a post-Super Bowl hangover, though, remains to be seen.