Rams hold on NFC West grows tighter into Week 5

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The San Francisco 49ers suffereda bad loss against the Los Angeles Chargers. Another game many may think they should have won , actually. It was all for naught once C.J. Beathard notched interception number two, a throw that went off-course once he got nailed, only to be intercepted and seal the game. The loss ends all ties and puts the 49ers in third place within the NFC West. The Rams now have a two-game lead in first place. Let’s see how it all shakes out. Los Angeles RamsIn what may have been the game of the week, the Rams beat the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday Night Football 38-31. This was significant not just for their record, but the NFC at large. The Vikings are part of the trio of NFC juggernauts (the other sometimes being the Philadelphia Eagles). That assessment comes into question given their beat-down at the hands of the Buffalo Bills, but they played a much more competitive game against the Rams. Rams quarterback Jared Goff played out of his own mind, throwing for 465 yards, five touchdowns, and a perfect passer rating of 158.3. Keep in mind, the Vikings defense is no joke. Or at least it wasn’t , but now some question marks on its efficiency is being raised. In any case, the Rams remain undefeated and even without Aqib Talib, it’s hard to see any scenario where they don’t run away with the division. At least at this point. Seattle Seahawks/Arizona CardinalsAs one may expect, the Seattle Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals. As one may not expect, it was by the skin of their teeth. The Seahawks won on a last second field goal to make the game 20-17. Right, the Cardinals had a competitive game against the Seahawks. The Seahawks locker room issues continue with Earl Thomas flipping the bird towards the Seahawks sideline following a fracture to his leg defending a touchdown pass. This is significant because Thomas had been holding out for a new contract during the offseason and finally gave in and arrived for Week 1. Thomas spoke about why he held out, and his concerns may be corroborated with the injury. Meanwhile, the Cardinals remain winless and are in 4th place of the NFC West. One game behind the 49ers. Sunday is really going to shake some things up. Into Week 5No more ties. The Rams will face the Seahawks in another NFC West battle which has the chance to put them further on the mountain top and leave the Seahawks and 49ers battling for second place. The Cardinals on the other hand get the 49ers and are fighting to win their first game. The 49ers are fighting to just not lose their entire roster to injury. 1st: Los Angeles Rams; Next: at Seattle Seahawks2nd: Seattle Seahawks; Next: Los Angeles Rams3rd: San Francisco 49ers; Next: Arizona Cardinals4th: Arizona Cardinals; Next: at San Francisco 49ersKyle Shanahan, Steve Wilks talk about Josh Rosen’s success in Week 4 The San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals this Sunday, and that means their first look at rookie quarterback Josh Rosen. The Cardinals looked set to let Rosen sit behind Sam Bradford learning the ropes , but Bradford was so awful, he earned his first start last week against the Seattle Seahawks.The Cardinals lost, but Rosen performed pretty well. He only completed 55 percent of his passes, but his completion percentage took a hit due to drops. PFF graded his passing near 90 (out of 100), and his adjusted completion percentage was 72 percent. If Phil Dawson doesn’t miss field goals of 45 and 50 yards, the Cardinals win this game. Of course, Seahawks kicker Sebastian Janikowski missed field goals of 52 and 38 yards, so we can flip that narrative as well.The point being however, Josh Rosen is not the reason this team lost. And he presents a challenge to an inconsistent 49ers defense. They will likely be without Richard Sherman, but Adrian Colbert and Jaquiski Tartt appear on track to return.On Wednesday , 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks both got a chance to talk about Rosen. Shanahan met with 49ers media for his weekly Wednesday press conference. Shanahan offered up this scouting report on Rosen’s game tape.Wilks spoke with 49ers media for the weekly Wednesday opponent conference call. He talked about the team being close to taking the next step, and cited Rosen doing some “great things” to help the team improve.A rookie quarterback is tough to sort out on a week-to-week basis, but there is one interesting note heading into this game. Last week, the Cardinals faced the Seahawks. This week, he gets the 49ers, which means he faces a similar defense in Robert Saleh’s scheme. There are plenty of differences, but the basic ground-level philosophy is similar. Wilks told 49ers media on Wednesday, “It’s always good when you start talking about a rookie quarterback being able to see some of the same looks.”The 49ers have been very solid against the run for the most part, ranking ninth in DVOA. However, they rank 23rd against the pass , coming in part because of their poor pass rush — which ranks 24th in adjusted sack rate — and in part because of their atrocious third down metrics. They rank in the middle of the pack on third and medium success rate, but they rank 29th in third and long success rate, and 26th in third and short success rate. Third down has killed this defense with regularity, and until they find answers, this is not going to change.A rookie quarterback can bring inconsistency, but Rosen appears like he might be turning into an upgrade over Sam Bradford. Robert Saleh does not bring a lot of blitzes, instead looking for his front four to get pressure. I wonder if the 49ers defensive coordinator tries to shake things up and confuse Rosen in his second career start. The chess match between Robert Saleh and Mike McCoy could make or break this game.