NFL Playoffs: How the NFC West Will Be Won

Damn, Jim Harbaugh is good.

What else can you say about the job that Harbaugh has done with the San Francisco 49ers this season?

The 49ers are 6-1, and they have a choke hold on the weakest division in football, the NFC West.  Coming into this season many so called "experts" (including yours truly) were picking the St. Louis Rams to win the division.

After all, the Rams were 7-9 last season, and lost a tie breaker to the Seattle Seahawks on the last day of the regular season.  They supposedly had the best QB in the division (Sam Bradford), and they brought in Josh McDaniels to run his version of the "Tom Brady video game statistics" offense.

The 49ers, they had Alex Smith at QB.  You know who I'm talking about, the same Alex Smith that was the former No. 1 overall pick in the draft.  The Alex Smith who was supposed to be a bust. 

A lot of people (including yours truly) thought the 49ers were going to be drafting a new QB in April, as they finished near the bottom of the NFC standings.  I thought the Niners had a lot of talent—no really, I did.  It's just that they had Alex Smith as their QB, and you can't win without a good QB in the NFL.

Jim Harbaugh had other plans.  He has the 49ers looking like the second best team in the NFC right now, right behind the World Champion Green Bay Packers.

Here is how I think the rest of the NFC West race will unfold...

Week 9

Here is how Week 9 will go down:

San Francisco will beat Washington

Seattle will lose at Dallas.

The Rams will go to Arizona and pick up a win.

The standings will now be: San Francisco (7-1), Seattle (2-6), St. Louis (2-6), and Arizona (1-7)

Week 10

Here is how Week 10 will go down:

San Francisco will get upset by the Giants.

Arizona will get killed when they travel to Philly.

Seattle hosts Baltimore, and they will lose big time.

St. Louis travels to Cleveland, where they win a close one.

The NFC Standings now look like this: San Francisco (7-2), St. Louis (3-6), Seattle (2-7), Arizona (1-8)

Week 11

Here is what I think will happen in Week 11:

The 49ers will beat the Cardinals at home.

The Rams will beat the Seahawks at home.

NFC West Standings: San Francisco (8-2), St. Louis (4-6), Seattle (2-8), Arizona (1-9)

Week 12

We are starting to see some clear separation by Week 12.

The 49ers travel to Baltimore, with John Harbaugh getting the better of his brother Jim.  49ers lose.

Arizona travels to St. Louis, with the Rams picking up the win.

Seattle hosts Washington, and the Seahawks pick up the win.

Standings: San Francisco (8-3), St. Louis (5-6), Seattle (3-8), Arizona (1-10)

All of a sudden, Arizona is right in the middle of this "Suck4Luck" campaign, and poor Kevin Kolb fears being traded all over again.

Week 13

Here is the Week 13 Schedule:

The 49ers host the Rams, and will put an end to the Rams' winning streak.

Arizona hosts Dallas, and they will continue their losing streak.

Seattle hosts Philly, and they will get blown out.

Standings: San Francisco (9-3), St. Louis (5-7), Seattle (3-9), Arizona (1-11)

If the Rams could pull off an upset, they could remain mathematically alive for a playoff spot.  With this loss, they would need to win every game and the 49ers would need to lose every game for them to even tie the 49'ers.

Week 14

Here is the Week 14 rundown:

The 49ers will travel to Arizona and pick up a win.

The Rams will travel to Seattle and lose on the road.  The Rams never play well in Seattle.

Standings: San Francisco (10-3), St. Louis (5-8), Seattle (4-9), Arizona (1-12)

With this win, the 49ers become the first team in the NFL to clinch a playoff spot.

Week 15

With the NFC West crown in hand, the 49ers are now playing for playoff position:

The 49ers host the Steelers in a great game.  The Steelers will win a close one.

Arizona hosts Cleveland, and they derail their "Suck4Luck" campaign by beating the Browns.

The Seahawks travel to Chicago and lose to the Bears.

The Rams host the surprising Bengals and lose at home.

Standings: San Francisco (10-4), St. Louis (5-9), Seattle (4-10), Arizona (2-12)

Week 16

The 49ers need to win to assure themselves a home field playoff game.  Here is how things will shake out in Week 16.

Thee 49'ers travel to Seattle, where they crush the Seahawks.

Arizona travels to Cincinnati, where they pull off a huge upset win.

St. Louis travels to Pittsburgh, where they put up a fight but still fall short.

Standings: San Francisco (11-4), St. Louis (5-10), Seattle (4-11), Arizona (3-12)

Week 17

The final weekend of the season will go down like this:

The 49ers travel to St. Louis, with a home-field playoff game secured.  They rest some players, and allow the Rams to win their final game of the season.

Arizona hosts Seattle, where they also win their final game of the season by beating the Seahawks.

Final NFC West Standings: San Francisco (11-5), St. Louis (6-10), Seattle (4-12), Arizona (3-12)

Final Analysis

The 49ers are going to win the NFC West by a comfortable margin.  With hindsight as our guide, it is clear now that the only team even remotely talented enough to compete with the 49ers was the St. Louis Rams. 

Unfortunately for St. Louis, adversity and bad luck combined to derail their season before it started.  Their secondary was wiped out by injuries.  They lost star running back Steven Jackson for three weeks to a thigh injury.  They lost starting QB Sam Bradford for two weeks to a high ankle sprain. 

All of this happened as the Rams endured what was easily the toughest early season schedule in the NFL. 

The 49ers deserve all the credit for the team they have put together.  As I said before, if Alex Smith didn't get better, it wouldn't have mattered if Vernon Davis and Fred Gore were great players.  Smith had to get better to take this team to another level.

Jim Harbaugh has done a terrific job in San Francisco.  Their long suffering fans can look forward to making it back to the playoffs this year, because the 49ers are going to win the NFC West.