49ers extend lead in NFC West over Seahawks

The NFC West race did not get closer in Week 12. There were two divisional games and the top of the division got better and the bottom got worse.

The San Francisco 49ers now have a two-game lead in the division and ensured they will not lose either a head-to-dead or division record tiebreaker to the Seattle Seahawks.

Here are the NFC West standings entering Week 13:

1. San Francisco 49ers, 8-3 (3-0 division)
2. Seattle Seahawks, 6-5 (1-3 division)
3. Los Angeles Rams, 5-6 (4-1 division)
4. Arizona Cardinals, 2-10 (0-4 division)

Here is what happened last week and what is coming up in Week 13.

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49ers and Seahawks

49ers running back Christian McCaffrey rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns for the 49ers and the defense didn’t allow Seattle to score a touchdown.

Seattle’s only trip to the end zone was a pick-six by linebacker Jordyn Brooks.

Seattle’s Geno Smith was picked off once and the offense as a team gained only 220 yards, turned the ball over twice and was sacked six times.

With the 49ers’ win, they cannot lose a head-to-head tiebreaker to the Seahawks. And since they have three division wins and Seattle already has three division losses, the Niners also will not lose a divisional tiebreaker to them either.

Cardinals and Rams

The Cardinals scored an opening-drive touchdown and that was about it for Arizona.

The Rams did whatever they wanted offensively. They rushed for 228 yards as a team, running back Kyren Williams had over 200 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns, and quarterback Matthew Stafford threw four touchdown passes.

Arizona’s Kyler Murray threw a touchdown pass in garbage time and rushed for a touchdown for the third straight game. The Cardinals failed to rush for 100 yards in a game (73 on Sunday) for only the third time all season.

Coming up in Week 13

• The Seahawks play Thursday night on the road against the 8-3 Dallas Cowboys, who have blown out every road opponent this season.
• The Cardinals will be on the road facing the 7-4 Pittsburgh Steelers.
• The Rams will play the 7-4 Cleveland Browns at home.
• The 49ers will be on the road against 10-1 Philadelphia Eagles.