How the West Was Won Week 7: Cardinals, Seahawks, Rams all notch wins
Oct 27, 2015, 9:35 AM
Week 7 in the NFC West started with a Thursday night division game between the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers and ended Monday night with the Arizona Cardinals hosting the Baltimore Ravens in Glendale.
After the smoke had cleared, three division teams tasted victory in Week 7.
Here’s a closer look at what went down in the NFC West this week.
Seattle Seahawks 20, San Francisco 49ers 3
For the first time in a long time, the Seahawks looked like the Seahawks. Marshawn Lynch ran the ball nine times on Seattle’s opening drive and finished with 122 yards and a touchdown while the Seahawks defense sacked Colin Kaepernick six times and held the 49ers out of the end zone in a convincing 17-point win.
Seattle held the 49ers to just 142 total yards in beating San Francisco for the fourth straight time. In those four wins, the Seahawks have outscored San Francisco 79-30.
Kaepernick’s struggles against his division foe continued — he went 13-of-24 for 124 yards and posted a QB rating of 68.8. Kaepernick also failed to record any rushing yardage in the game — the first time that’s happened in his 46 career starts.
Seattle Money Quote: “It felt like a really normal Seahawk night tonight.” — Seattle head coach Pete Carroll
San Francisco Money Quote: “Something ain’t right in SF.” — 49ers receiver Kasim Osgood, on Twitter after the game.
Stat of the Game: Lynch topped 100 yards in a game for the first time this season, and the first time since Seattle’s Super Bowl loss to New England last February.
"A lot of guys can get 100 yards, but they don’t punish the team. He punishes the team” @mosesbread72 on @MoneyLynch https://t.co/2vVLya4ENg
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) October 24, 2015
St. Louis Rams 24, Cleveland Browns 6
Some around the league scoffed when the Rams took Georgia running back Todd Gurley with the 10th overall selection in the 2015 draft. Gurley was coming off a severely injured knee and wouldn’t be ready for the beginning of the season.
He’s been worth the wait.
The rookie ran for 128 yards and scored two touchdowns as the Rams romped over the Cleveland Browns at the Edward Jones Dome.
Cleveland had closed the gap to 10-6 early in the third quarter after a Travis Coons field goal, but that’s when Gurley took over. He capped an 88-yard drive with a 1-yard scoring plunge late in the third and then capped the scoring in the fourth with a 16-yard touchdown run.
In his last three games, Gurley has run for 433 yards on 68 carries (6.4 yards per attempt).
St. Louis Money Quote: “Chris Johnson was outstanding early and Eddie George was outstanding early. I don’t recall them having the numbers after three full games like Todd has.” — St. Louis head coach Jeff Fisher, comparing Gurley to some other great running backs he’s worked with.
Stat of the Game: Nick Foles threw for 163 yards in the win, marking the 18th straight game St. Louis has had under 300 yards passing.
Go inside the #Rams locker room to hear Coach Fisher's postgame speech! #MobSquad #YearOfTheRam
https://t.co/EKxL0zxdD1
— St. Louis Rams (@STLouisRams) October 26, 2015
Arizona Cardinals 26, Baltimore Ravens 18
It wasn’t a dominating effort, but a solid win for the Cardinals, who bounced back from a disappointing Week 6 loss at Pittsburgh.
Carson Palmer threw two touchdown passes and Chris Johnson ran for 122 yards and a score for Arizona.
Safety Tony Jefferson sealed the game with an interception of Baltimore’s Joe Flacco in the end zone with six seconds left and the Ravens left Glendale with their second three-game losing streak of the season.
John Harbaugh complained after the game that Baltimore’s phone communication stopped working on the final drive.
Arizona Money Quote: “I love them. I love Monday night. Everyone around the world is watching. I like playing night games. It is a different energy for not just me, but the whole team, it is a different energy when you play on Monday night.” — Cardinals RB Chris Johnson
Stat of the Game: Johnson became the first Cardinals running back to have three 100-yard games in a season since Edgerrin James in 2007.
Big bounce back win. Our great crowd showed everyone watching #MNF what home field advantage looks like! We felt your energy all 4 quarters!
— Bruce Arians (@BruceArians) October 27, 2015
| Team | Overall | PF | PA | Home | Away | Conf. | Div. | NFC North | AFC North |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
5-2 | 229 | 133 | 3-1 | 2-1 | 4-1 | 1-1 | 2-0 | 1-1 |
 |
3-3 | 108 | 119 | 2-1 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 2-0 | 0-1 | 1-1 |
 |
3-4 | 154 | 128 | 2-1 | 2-3 | 3-3 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 0-1 |
 |
2-5 | 103 | 180 | 2-1 | 0-4 | 1-4 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 1-1 |
Week 7 Award Winners
Offensive Player of the Week: Todd Gurley, RB, St. Louis – Gurley has become the biggest single factor in the Rams’ offense and he’s arguably been the league’s best back over the last four weeks.
Honorable mention: Arizona RB Chris Johnson, Arizona QB Carson Palmer, Seattle RB Marshawn Lynch
Defensive Player of the Week: Michael Bennett, DE, Seattle – Bennett terrorized San Francisco’s offensive line and Colin Kaepernick by racking up 3.5 sacks on Thursday night. He had just three sacks in Seattle’s first six games.
Honorable mention: Arizona S Tony Jefferson, St. Louis S Mark Barron, St. Louis S Rodney McLeod, San Francisco LB Michael Wilhoite, San Francisco LB Aaron Lynch, Arizona S Tyrann Mathieu
Special Teams Player of the Week: Justin Bethel, Arizona – Bethel’s tackle and strip of Baltimore’s Jeremy Ross on a punt return led to a Cardinals’ touchdown that gave them a 14-10 lead late in the second quarter.
Honorable mention: Seattle K Steven Hauschka
