NFC West heat check: Where do the Cardinals rank after Week 1?

A week into the NFL regular season, and there’s already chaos and carnage in the NFC West, highlighted by the Arizona Cardinals’ major road upset of the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

But what about the rest of the division?

Did the Los Angeles Rams live up to Super Bowl projections? Was the substation in Santa Clara the culprit for another San Francisco 49ers injury? And what kind of championship hangover did the Seattle Seahawks have as they begin their title defense?

Let’s check the temperatures around the division ahead of Arizona’s home opener against Seattle.

NFC West heat check after Cardinals’ season-opening win

San Francisco 49ers (1-0)

What happened: While Arizona’s win was an impressive accomplishment for first-year head coach Mike LaFleur and the franchise, San Francisco’s utter domination of the Rams in Australia last Thursday remains the biggest hot spot in the division.

On top of carving up Myles Garrett and the Rams defense with relative ease offensively, the San Francisco defense created absolute havoc for quarterback Matthew Stafford and the L.A. offense.

Linebacker Fred Warner returned to the lineup looking fresher than ever with 11 tackles, a pass defended and a forced fumble.

Wide receiver Mike Evans quickly inserted himself into the 49ers conversation, too, with six catches for 49 yards and a touchdown. Running back Christian McCaffrey quietly averaged 6.8 yards per carry and caught five passes for 20 yards.

It was also a clean operation for San Francisco as a whole with just two penalties committed.

As the saying goes, the more time Down Under, the less blunders (or something like that?).

What’s next: The Miami Dolphins await the 49ers in Week 2.

With plenty of added rest from the Australia trip and a Miami team coming off a double-digit loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, San Francisco is in prime position to be 2-0 heading into a Week 3 game against Arizona.

There’s a reason San Francisco is 13-point favorites, and that’s even with zero sacks recorded last week.

Temperature: Scorching

Arizona Cardinals (1-0)

What happened: Arizona pulled off the biggest upset of Week 1 in its 26-14 win over the Chargers.

And in doing so, LaFleur ended a dastardly trend former Arizona head coaches just couldn’t seem to shake for more than five decades.

LaFleur’s offense looked just as advertised, save for the penalties that are surely grinding his gears, and having to settle for field goals more often than not.

Still, his playmakers went to work and he had the defense on its toes from the jump. The tandem of Tyler Allgeier and Jeremiyah Love could shape up to be one of the best in the league as more reps pile up. Tight end Trey McBride remains that dude.

But it was the defense that seriously flexed its muscles on Sunday with four turnovers on downs, highlighted by a Dante Stills sack and a Simi Fehoko blocked punt.

Safety Andrew Wingard looks like he’s right at home in Arizona and became the first player in franchise history to have two tackles for loss, an interception and a forced fumble in a single game.

The pass rush, however, has got to get more consistent pressure. Arizona ranked among the bottom of the league in total pressures with nine.

Josh Sweat, who played more snaps than any other outside linebacker, was a nonfactor on that side of the football with zero pressures and a tackle for loss.

What’s next: Arizona’s first divisional game under LaFleur comes at home against the Seahawks. And what a perfect time to rock the Rivalry uniforms.

The last time Arizona beat Seattle was in 2021. Since then, the Cardinals have gone 0-9 against the division rival. They’re 4.5-point home underdogs.

Given the Cardinals’ Week 1 optics and where Seattle stands quarterback-wise, can LaFleur buck another trend early on in Arizona tenure?

Temperature: Hot

Seattle Seahawks (1-0)

What happened: The Seahawks hung their Super Bowl banner and successfully got the win over the New England Patriots to kick off the regular season.

Sure, they’re 1-0 after the 13-10 win, but it was far from pretty for head coach Mike Macdonald’s squad.

Had it not been for Patriots quarterback Drake Maye’s questionable decision-making and three interceptions in the fourth quarter, Seattle could easily be 0-1.

Seattle’s defense is going to be a problem all year. The offense, however, didn’t instill a ton of confidence. It also watched starting quarterback Sam Darnold exit with a hip injury.

And with him expected to miss time, the Seahawks look a lot more vulnerable.

Can Drew Lock pick up the slack in Darnold’s absence? We’re about to start to get a real good answer this week.

What’s next: Arizona’s home opener is on the horizon for Seattle.

A Seahawks win would continue their long streak of dominance over Arizona.

An Arizona victory will pour some serious gas on what the Cardinals are building under LaFleur.

Temperature: Lukewarm

Los Angeles Rams (0-1)

What happened: The Rams have long been viewed as the easy pick to own the division on their way to another Super Bowl title under head coach Sean McVay.

The Cardinals have long been viewed as the easy pick to finish last in the division under LaFleur.

Through one week, it’s Arizona — not L.A. — sitting atop the division alongside San Francisco and getting plenty of love from around the league.

So much for those overseas travel plans!

Los Angeles looked out of sorts and overwhelmed in its season-opening loss to San Francisco.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford looked nothing like his 2025 MVP status with just 155 yards and an interception on 15-of-25 passing. The offense as a whole had just one touchdown.

Garrett was nearly nonexistent in his L.A. debut after stealing offseason headlines.

The bad news didn’t stop there for Garrett, either. After the game, he was placed on injured reserve due to a knee issue and will miss at least the next four games of the year.

Suddenly, the juggernaut of the west has some visible weaknesses.

What’s next: The Rams have yet another primetime game on the docket with the New York Giants heading to L.A. for Monday Night Football.

The Rams are 7-point favorites but are facing a Giants team coming off a 28-20 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.

There’s clearly some juice to the John Harbaugh-led franchise. And yes, Cam Skattebo is a big part of that.

Temperature: Cold

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