NFL

• NFC West: Real test begins for the Cardinals

  
  

  By Michael Rushton, NFL Contributing Editor (Sports Network) - With a four-game lead in the NFC West after Sunday's 26-20 victory over Seattle -- the club that has won the last four division titles -- the Arizona Cardinals appear a lock to win their first division crown since claiming the NFC East in 1975.

  The Cardinals only hurdle left is beating teams in their former division.

  Arizona is a perfect 4-0 this year versus its fellow NFC West opponents, including a sweep of its three road games versus San Francisco, St. Louis and Seattle, respectively. In those four contests, the Cards are averaging 28 points per game.

  That has put the club in position to clinch the division as early as this weekend, as a victory by Arizona, a loss by the 49ers, and a tie or loss by the Seahawks would give the Cards the crown.

  "I feel strongly about us continuing with our preparation and the way we are playing, and hopefully, when we get into the playoffs, that will continue no matter if we clinch early," head coach Ken Whisenhunt told Arizona's official site on Monday. "Hopefully we are fighting for a higher seed, which is what you always want to do, but it is a good problem to have." That is all fine and good against a division that can be currently considered one of the worst in the NFL. But if the Cardinals are too make some noise in the postseason, they need to win some games outside of it as well.

  With six games left to play, Arizona faces a stiff challenge over the next two weeks. It hosts the 9-1 New York Giants this Sunday before traveling to Philadelphia on a short week to battle the 5-4-1 Eagles in a Thanksgiving Day nightcap.

  Though they have been competitive, the Cardinals have still stumbled a bit against all things east. They are 1-1 against the NFC East this year, having posted a big home win over Dallas but also losing a seven-point test versus Washington. Arizona is also 0-3 on the East Coast this year, having lost the aforementioned game in Washington in addition to tests in New York (56-35 loss to Jets) and Carolina (27-23).

  So the next two weeks will go a long way if Arizona is to prove it is for real. At 7-3, the Cards are two wins shy of their first winning season since going 9-7 in 1998, also the last time they made the playoffs.

  However, with quarterback Kurt Warner (395 passing yards versus Seattle, his franchise-record fourth straight 300-yard passing game) having an MVP-caliber season, and wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald (10 catches for 151 yards against Seattle) and Anquan Boldin (13 receptions for 186 yards) having monster campaigns, the NFC East better not take the Cardinals too lightly.

  UP NEXT: Arizona hosts the Giants, a team that beat the Cardinals in New York when the teams last faced each other in 2005. Overall, the Giants have beaten the Cards in five of the last seven meetings between the clubs.

  49ERS: NOT CONTENT WITH SOLID WIN When the San Francisco 49ers walked off the field after Sunday's 35-16 victory over the St. Louis Rams, you would have thought they were walking towards what was sure to be a happy locker room.

  After all, the 49ers' first half featured 35 points -- the most the club had put up through two quarters since a franchise-record 42 versus Atlanta in 1992 -- and quarterback Shaun Hill's quarterback rating heading into the break was a perfect 158.3 after two touchdown passes and a 12-for-14 throwing effort.

  Add in 67 rushing yards and a pair of scores by Frank Gore in the first half, and you are looking at a complete effort, right? Unless of course, your head coach is Mike Singletary.

  "I thought we did a decent job in the first half," said Singletary. "We talked about coming out and starting fast, executing, doing the things we need to do in order to win the game. So we were very excited about what happened in the first half. We came in at halftime and we talked about going out and finishing what we started in that first half." Finishing is the key word there. Though the Niners easily won the game, they didn't score in the second half while allowing 13 Rams points. In addition to the lack of offense, San Francisco's defense allowed St. Louis to rack up 203 yards in the second half and 406 total for the game.

  "Finishing means that we don't walk off the field," said San Francisco's head coach. "We jog off the field. Finishing means that however we started the game, we need to end the game stronger than we started. That's finishing." It doesn't sound like Singletary particularly enjoyed his first win as an NFL head coach. However, after getting a few things off his chest, the Hall of Fame former linebacker admitted he was humbled by the win, adding his team deserved it more than he did for how hard they have been working.

  Singletary should also be happy that his decision to go with Hill for a second straight week over J.T. O'Sullivan paid off. Hill became the first 49ers starting quarterback to post a perfect passer rating in the first half in team history. Hall of Famer Steve Young held the previous best number for the club in the first half at 156.5.

  Hill, though, shared his head coach's assessment that his team was far from perfect.

  "The funny thing about that rating is it might say that somebody is perfect, but I promise you there were some mistakes in there about myself," he said after making just his fourth career start. "So, I wasn't perfect." San Francisco isn't coming off like a team that won just its third game of the season by snapping a six-game losing streak. However, it does sound like one that is ready to finish the year strong.

  UP NEXT: The 49ers will hit the road for two straight, starting with this Sunday's test against the Cowboys. San Francisco has won three of its last five over Dallas, including a 31-27 victory that last time the clubs met in Texas in 2002. The Cowboys posted a 34-31 victory in San Francisco when the teams last met in 2005.

  RAMS: FALLING BEHIND PACE Another game and another loss for the Rams. Oh, we are not talking about St. Louis' 35-16 setback to the San Francisco 49ers, but rather another injury to offensive lineman Orlando Pace.

  Pace left Sunday's loss late in the first quarter due to a grade 2 MCL sprain in his knee. The ailment will sideline the seven-time Pro Bowl tackle for two- to-four weeks. However, head coach Jim Haslett hasn't ruled out his big tackle landing on injured reserve.

  "That is something that we will have to discuss, but right now he is two-to- four (weeks) so I am going to talk to Orlando and see what he thinks," Haslett said on Monday.

  It is no secret that the Rams' 2007 miseries began right in Week 1, when Pace suffered a right shoulder injury that cost him the season. Since being selected first overall in the 1997 draft, Pace has missed time due to calf and hamstring injuries in 2002, a torn lift triceps in 2006 and last year's shoulder ailment.

  Without Pace last year, the Rams averaged under 100 rushing yards per game (95.4). However, even though he had played in eight of St. Louis' nine games this season before last weekend's loss, the club was averaging just 92.6 yards per week on the ground.

  Then came Sunday's loss to San Francisco. Even without Pace for most of the game, as well as guard Richie Incognito due to a strained rotator cuff suffered early in the contest, the Rams posted 126 rushing yards on 23 carries, getting 95 yards from Antonio Pittman.

  Still, it is likely St. Louis was missing its big boys in the red zone, as it came away with only 10 points inside the 49ers' 20-yard line.

  "I thought that we moved the ball on offense fairly well, but once you get (in the red zone) you can't kick field goals, and we have to start scoring touchdowns," said Haslett.

  Running back Steven Jackson missed his second straight game due to a lingering thigh injury and is out again this weekend. In fact, with the Rams just 2-8 on the season, don't be surprised if banged-up players like Jackson and Pace get shut down for the season.

  UP NEXT: The Rams, losers of four straight, return home for two consecutive games and host Chicago this Sunday. The Rams lost to the Bears in St. Louis in 2006 to snap a four-game series winning streak.

  SEAHAWKS: HASSELBECK, BRANCH RETURN DOESN'T PROVIDE SPARK The Seattle Seahawks had both quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and wide receiver Deion Branch back on the field for Sunday's contest against Arizona. Their returns did not translate into a win, though, as Seattle dropped a 26-20 contest to the Cardinals to fall to 2-8 on the season.

  Hasselbeck's rust was apparent. Returning from a back ailment that caused him to miss the previous five games, the 33-year-old threw for 170 yards with a touchdown pass, but was also intercepted three times. He had thrown for only 53 yards on 7-of-11 passing in the first half.

  Heading into Sunday's showdown with Arizona, the Seahawks ranked 31st in the NFL with an average of 144.7 passing yards per game, a number they did eclipse in the loss. However, much of that came in the second half with Arizona already ahead.

  Hasselbeck also took some hard hits in the loss, including one by Arizona safety Adrian Wilson, who has already been fined once this season. Hasselbeck said after Sunday's game that he thought the Cardinals might have some more fines coming their way after the game.

  However, he felt differently on Monday.

  "They (the Cardinals) played hard, they played physical, but they played within the rules and with class," the Seattle quarterback told the Tacoma News Tribune on Monday. "I regret saying that; in fact I hope nobody gets fined." Branch also returned after missing the last five games due to a heel ailment. In all, it was just his second contest he played in this season, after offseason knee surgery kept him out of the campaign's first three games as well. Branch, the MVP of Super Bowl XXXIX while with New England, made four catches for 54 yards.

  One season after throwing for nearly 4,000 passing yards while connecting on a career-high 28 touchdown passes, Hasselbeck is out to prove he can still play in the NFL. Both his back and his 2008 numbers might suggest otherwise. In five games this year, the three-time Pro Bowl selection has just a 55.0 quarterback rating to go along with 826 passing yards, three touchdown throws and seven interceptions.

  Branch, meanwhile, has yet to make a name for himself in Seattle. Though he played in 14 games in 2006 with the Seahawks following his trade from New England, the 29-year-old missed four games in 2007 due to a foot injury before also sitting out that season's finale because of a calf issue.

  With little on the line for 2008, both can work on returning to form for the rest of the campaign in preparation for making a run in 2009.

  UP NEXT: The Seahawks play the second of two straight at home, as they host the Washington Redskins this Sunday. Seattle has lost its last four regular- season games against Washington, including a road test in overtime in 2005. The teams haven't met in the Emerald City since 2002 in regular-season play, but Seattle did hand the Redskins a 35-14 loss in last January's NFC Wild Card Playoffs.

  11/18 18:23:04 ET