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The points-win victory for NFC West teams has a draw at the top. And not between the teams that finished at the top of the division in 2020.
The Rams and 49ers both have an excessive number of 10.5 in a 17-game season.
This is surprising at first glance. The Rams won ten games in 2020 with Jared Goff on quarterback. The Rams will in all likelihood be better in 2021, especially with Matthew Stafford replacing Goff.
The 49ers are figuring out their post-Jimmy existence. Will he be the quarterback in 2021, or will the appetizer be the third overall choice in the draft? After a disappointing season of 6-10 in 2020, is there any reason to think that they will win at least five more matches in 2021?
One reason to place the two teams on the same winning total is the following: The 17-match formula now involves three matches that will vary depending on the previous year in the division. The Rams finished second in the NFC West, and the 49ers finished fourth. Where the Rams play the Giants, Buccaneers and Ravens, the 49ers rather face the Eagles, Falcons and Bengals.
For the Rams, it’s actually worse to be second than first, as Seattle’s three consecutive games come against Washington, New Orleans and Pittsburgh. These three games can generally be considered more easily than Giants, Bucs, Ravens.
The Seahawks still have just a winning projection of just nine, which is a surprising drop, given the final 12-4 last year. Perhaps this is partly based on the possibility that Russell Wilson will be traded, which could cause a free fall in 2021. Or maybe the strangers do not believe in the new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.
The Cardinals, a team that was 8-8 a year ago, have the lowest total in the division, with eight. This shows that the betting markets were not impressed with the upgrades the team made through the addition of JJ Watt, AJ Green and Rodney Hudson. (The Cardinals also lost Patrick Peterson, Haason Reddick and maybe Larry Fitzgerald.)
Again, I bet not. To me, it looks like the Rams are over 10.5 for the NFC West from now on.