I, For One, Welcome Our New Blue and Gold Overlords (2026 NFC West Preview)

The NFC West: geographically correct since 2002.

Not that I didn't love the old NFC West that had teams from Atlanta, New Orleans, St. Louis, and Charlotte in it. And after over 30 years, I finally learned why the division was like that. When the Falcons debuted, they were in the pre-merged NFL's Coastal Division with the Rams, Niners, and the Baltimore Colts, with the Saints replacing the AFC-bound Colts in the renamed NFC West in 1970. That was the division until 1995, when the Carolina Panthers debuted and joined the NFC West.

Of course, the 2002 realignment took the Eastern teams out of the division and replaced them with the Arizona Cardinals and the Seattle Seahawks. This is Year 25, and in the years that have passed, the NFC West has been wild and crazy. I still remember the Seahawks winning the West in 2010 at 7-9, and I also recall some nutty tie games in that division, including that 6-6 game between the Cards and Hawks in 2016. Since then, the NFC West has been a strong division for years, including last year, as the NFC West represented 3/4 of the NFC Divisional Playoff, and later the entire NFC Championship.

That may not be the case this year. Here's why:

Arizona Cardinals (3-14)

December 28, 1947. On that evening, the Cardinals won the NFL Championship by defeating the Philadelphia Eagles, 28-21. Since then, a bunch of nothing. Here's how long ago that was. The team was based in Chicago at the time. They moved to St. Louis in 1960, and when the merger happened a decade later, the Cards were placed in the NFC East, a division they only won twice in 32 seasons. They moved to Arizona in 1988, but weren't placed in the NFC West until 2002. The team won the NFC West three times, but they did reach the Super Bowl in 2008.

During this offseason, the Cardinals did something very stupid: they got rid of Kyler Murray. Kyler had been carrying that dead team for years, yet how do they treat him? They tried to force him to watch game video because they think Black people can't be QBs, and they leave him hanging and let him go. He's now in Minnesota. Thanks, Cardinals, you blithering idiots. This is how losing teams stay losing. Jacoby Brissett, who is also to good to be there, is not the answer. Enjoy Season #79 without a championship. They have the longest current drought in sports, BTW.

San Francisco 49ers (12-5)

If this were the NHL, this whole team would have been (at least) nominated for the Bill Masterton Trophy for the last five or six years. The Niners have been injured all to hell since the 2020s began, yet they've been to a Super Bowl during that decade. The offseason was interesting. For one, Deebo Samuel is back, which did surprise me. Deebo is always a fantasy favorite of mine because he's a Swiss army knife; a receiver who rushes and throws passes. He's older, though. He is on the right side of 30, but it's still 30, and he does a lot.

They still have the same problem, though: Brock Purdy at QB. Purdy is one of the worst QBs in the league; can't be depended on, always turns the ball over, an absolute liability. Purdy's only hope is that the team stays fully healthy, and that hasn't happened in years.

Los Angeles Rams (12-5)

Oh boy. We knew this would happen. It's bad enough that the Rams snagged Myles Garrett, one of the best defensive players in the league, and he's coming off setting the new single season sacks record. Also, the Rams defense is strong anyway, and now they have Garrett. So Garrett alone boosted the Rams' Super Bowl chances. And then, he came back. The talk was just talk. Just a joke. Then it became a rumor. Now it's a reality. Aaron Donald is back with the Rams.

The sound you hear is literally every one of the other 15 NFC fanbases screaming, "We surrender!" This team almost made the Super Bowl last year with what they had! Now? They have Garrett. Donald's back. And the Super Bowl is in their house this year. Holy shitballs, this entire league is the Rams' to lose! Now, they just have to hope that Puka Nacua doesn't act like a total prick this season.

Seattle Seahawks (14-3)

Well, Seahawks, I hope you enjoyed that Super Bowl win. It was a good one, wasn't it? The Seahawks winning Super Bowl LX on the soil of one of their division rivals; their second Super Bowl championship and their first in 11 years. So, yeah, continue drinking that championship in, because I have news for you, Seattle. Playoffs for you this season? Forget it! The reason is simple: the Hawks stupidly let go of the only reason why they won that game--Kenneth Walker III. The MVP of Super Bowl LX, and they let him go. My goodness.

So the Seahawks enter this season with no RB, no WR, and Sam Darnold is still their QB. They are screwed. Last year, they feasted on the easiest schedule in the league. They won't have that luxury this year. They won 14 games last year. This year? Seattle might win half that. Darnold will crash and burn like he always does, and they let go of one of the only two good offensive players. This will be a long year for the Seahawks.

So from the looks of this, the Rams are running unopposed in this division. The Cardinals are still the punching bag, the Niners are battered, and the Seahawks have nothing. But even though the Rams will clinch this division before Thanksgiving, the NFC West should still be fun to watch, especially for this Southern Californian!