NFC West 2020 NFL Preview: Who will emerge from NFL's best division?

San Francisco 49ers running back Raheem Mostert runs against Seattle Seahawks cornerback Shaquill Griffin during overtime of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Nov. 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

The NFL is back, and Sportsnet is breaking down everything you need to know about each of the 32 teams in the lead-up to kickoff on Thursday, Sept. 10.

Today, we look at the NFC West. (Teams are listed in the order in which we believe they’ll finish in the 2020 standings.)

Seattle Seahawks

2019 finish: 11-5, lost in the divisional round

The good news: Russell Wilson, for one, and a stout defence with a beastly linebacking corps and a punishing secondary — just don’t call them the second coming of the Legion of Boom.

The bad news: The offensive line was rough last year, and went through a major off-season overhaul, which means there will be a healthy dose of teething pain — at least early on, if not into the season.

2020 opt-outs: Chance Warmack, G

Your new favourite player: Jamal Adams. He was a late addition to the team after a trade from the New York Jets, but gives Seattle one of the best safety tandems in the league. The price — largely a boatload of draft picks — was steep, but the move also indicated this team is absolutely in win-now mode, and will worry about the rest later.

Player you'll miss most: D.J. Fluker was a member of the Seahawks for only two seasons, but he quickly became a favourite among fans and teammates, and was a big part of the offensive line’s resurgence last year. Even though the team released him, they still felt the need to make a goodbye video.

Game you should be most excited about: vs. San Francisco, Sunday, Nov. 1. The first game of the year between the two teams set to compete for the division crown. Should be fun.

Game you should be least excited about: vs. Arizona, Thursday, Nov. 19. Did you know the Seahawks are on a seven-game Thursday night win streak? It’s true. They haven’t lost a Thursday game since 2012. But considering the inherent randomness of short-rest games, that seems highly unsustainable. What’s more, the Cardinals will be treating every prime-time game as an opportunity to show out, and winning in Seattle would be a major (red) feather in their caps.

2020 season prediction: 12–4, winning Super Bowl LV

San Francisco 49ers

2019 finish: 13-3, lost the Super Bowl

The good news: They’re coming back as close to the team that went to Super Bowl LIV as you can get in the modern era of player movement. The team looks set to return roughly 80 per cent of their 2019 starters, and that incredible continuity can only be considered a good thing when factoring in how unusual this off-season has been.

The bad news: That monkey on Kyle Shanahan’s back might as well be King Kong right now. In the past four years, Shanahan has turned winning situations in two Super Bowls into dispiriting losses — first as an offensive coordinator (with a 25-point lead) with Atlanta in 2017 and then as head coach with the 49ers this past February. No one will question San Francisco’s talent or ability to get back to the title game. But how many have faith in the coach getting out of his own way long enough to win it?

2020 opt-outs: Shon Coleman, OL; Travis Benjamin, WR

Your new favourite player: Brandon Aiyuk. Not only will the first-rounder help replace the departed Emmanuel Sanders — he may also be called upon as the No. 1 wide receiver in this offence depending on how quickly Deebo Samuel recovers from his broken foot. It’s still a running offence and George Kittle is still the first passing option, but Aiyuk will have opportunities as long as a mild hamstring strain doesn't hold him back.

Player you'll miss most: Joe Staley made his 49ers debut two months after the first iPhone was released in 2007, and retired this off-season after 181 career games played for the franchise. The silver lining: he’ll be replaced by Trent Williams, who was acquired in a trade at the draft.

Game you should be most excited about: @ New England, Sunday, Oct. 25. Though it won’t quite have the flavour of a Garoppolo-Brady bout after Touchdown Tom joined Tampa this off-season, this will be Jimmy G.’s first game back in New England since the team traded him in 2017. It will also feature a duel between Garoppolo and Cam Newton, the guy the Patriots went with as their actual Brady succession plan.

Game you should be least excited about: @ New Orleans, Sunday, Nov. 15. This will complete a four-week stretch that features 1) three games against 2019 division winners, and 2) three road games. It also leads into the bye week, which the Niners will desperately need by this point.

2020 season prediction: 11-5, getting out to a quick start to cruise to a playoff spot, before losing in the conference final

Arizona Cardinals

2019 finish: 5-10-1, missed playoffs

The good news: Well, there’s a lot of it. After the Cardinals spent the No. 1–overall pick in the 2019 draft on Kyler Murray, the Oklahoma product went out and won offensive rookie of the year. After a 2.5-win improvement year over year, the team stayed aggressive once the season finished up, trading for DeAndre Hopkins, adding linebacker Isaiah Simmons in the top of the draft, and solidifying their offensive line. You can make an argument this team won the off-season, and people are expecting a big improvement.

The bad news: Winning the off-season is overrated. Just ask the Cleveland Browns, who seem to win it every other year and never have anything to show for it. The reality is this team finished last by a mile in this division, and has proven nothing yet.

2020 opt-outs: Marcus Gilbert, OT

Your new favourite player: This is a gimme. Acquired in a massively lopsided trade, Hopkins has been named a first-team All-Pro at wideout three years running, and will make life a lot easier for Murray — and a lot more fun for Cardinals fans.

Player you'll miss most: This is a tough one. David Johnson, who was sent to Houston in the Hopkins trade, was a superstar in 2016, when he led the league with 2,118 yards from scrimmage and 20 total touchdowns. But he was never really the same after missing almost all of the 2017 season with a dislocated wrist. So he won’t be missed for what he gave the team recently (especially with Kenyan Drake entrenched as the RB1), but for the moment the Cardinals’ backfield was the envy of the league.

Game you should be most excited about: @ San Francisco, Sunday, Sept. 13. I mean, who doesn’t like a trial by fire? Not only do the Cardinals get to measure their new and improved selves against the best of their division and the NFC representative in Super Bowl LIV, but Murray gets a chance to prove he was the right choice over the guy who was picked right behind him in 2019 — Nick Bosa, who just so happened to win defensive rookie of the year.

Game you should be least excited about: @ New York Giants, Sunday, Dec. 13. Murray escaped his rookie year without a serious cold-weather game (from November onwards, he played in only Arizona, Tampa, San Fran, Seattle and L.A.). One needs to go back only to last season to see what playing at Met Life in December can look like:

2020 season prediction: 10-6, lose in wild-card round

L.A. Rams

2019 finish: 9-7, missed playoffs

The good news: Well, uh, it wasn’t a season chock full of good news. But let’s look on the bright side: they’re just two years removed from a Super Bowl appearance, and Aaron Donald (defensive player of the year in 2014, 2017 and 2018) is still here anchoring what looks like one of the 10 best defences in the league. They also got a new logo, ushering in a new aesthetic era for the franchise.

The bad news: See the team write-ups above. The NFC West might be the toughest division in the league this year, and the Rams could simply be the odd men out. Also, it’s not just the competition. After dropping four wins and two spots in the division standings from 2018 to 2019, the team lost a wack of key contributors this off-season — from Todd Gurley to Cory Littleton and more — which will make keeping pace that much more difficult. Also, no one liked the new logo.

2020 opt-outs: Chandler Brewer, OT

Your new favourite player: Cam Akers. Though the circumstances surrounding the empty Rams’ backfield may make you tear up (see below), the fact is there will be a lot of opportunity for Akers to show his stuff and win some fans. Picked up in the second round of the 2020 draft, the Florida State product with three-down potential averaged over 100 rushing yards per game and amassed 18 touchdowns in his final NCAA season.

Player you'll miss most: Gurley. What a sad, weird situation. He just turned 26 years old in August, and he’s already accounted for 70 career touchdowns (70!), but he just hasn’t had the same level of success since inexplicably rushing just four times in the 2018 NFC Championship Game and being a relative non-factor in the Super Bowl. Here’s hoping he can put the knee injuries behind him and that he has a major comeback in Atlanta. When he was great for the Rams, he was the best in the league.

Game you should be most excited about: vs. Dallas, Sunday, Sept. 13. A date with fellow biggest-2019-disappointment contender Dallas on Sunday Night Football, the most watched game of the week, at home in Week 1? This might just set the tone for both teams for the whole season.

Game you should be least excited about: @ Bills, Sunday, Sept. 27. The Rams have a great defence — the Bills might have an even better one. That should make life real hard on Jared Goff and an offence that struggled in 2019. Despite a career-high 626 pass attempts last year, Goff put up just 22 touchdowns versus 16 interceptions, and accumulated a middling 86.5 passer rating.

2020 season prediction: 9-7, miss playoffs

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