With Wilson traded, is the NFC West the LA Rams to lose?

Can the Rams dominate the NFC West?

Over the years, the Rams had a lot of success throughout the division. Since the Seattle Seahawks drafted quarterback Russell Wilson, the Rams have enjoyed a 12-8 win-loss record against them. Not just winning, but physically dominating them upfront. Is it any wonder why Wilson wanted out of the NFC West?  Perhaps, and I’m just speculating here, he was tired of being hunted down and forced to run away from LA Rams All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald?

Ironically, he has not escaped that fate in 2022, since the Rams play the AFC West this year. Under LA Rams head coach Sean McVay, the Rams have defeated the Arizona Cardinals nine out of their past ten matchups.  I guess the Cardinals still haven’t found the answer for the Rams and the future doesn’t appear to shed any new answers for them.

Rams beat 49ers in NFC Championship Game

The San Francisco 49ers are the only team in the NFC West that has given the Rams a lot of trouble. The 49ers have beaten the Rams seven out of the last ten regular-season games, and are on a six-game winning streak. But everything changed in post-season, as the Rams got their revenge in the NFC Championship game by beating the 49ers 20-17. Like the Seahawks, the 49ers have a question mark at quarterback next year as veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is on the trade block and they plan to turn to second-year quarterback Trey Lance to run the team in 2022.

I guess time will tell if the 49ers will be able to hang with the Rams in 2022. Below, I examined each team in the NFC West going into 2022 and provided my projections for the final standings in the NFC West Division.

Projected 2022 NFC West Ranking

1. Los Angeles Rams
2. Arizona Cardinals
3. San Francisco 49ers
4. Seattle Seahawks

Of course, these projections do not consider how the division will change based on the 2022 NFL Free Agency market or the 2022 NFL Draft.