California Dreams (2025 NFC West Preview)
Previewing the National Football Conference's Western Division for the 2025 NFL season
As a Southern Californian, I do enjoy the NFC West as much as I enjoy the AFC West, because the division lands on my TV screens a lot. However, I am more of an NFC guy, so I do look at the NFC West more intently, especially because this is the division that has had interesting encounters with the Packers. Recent years have seen this iteration of the NFC West serve as the conference's strongest division. The division races have been strong, and the division has been represented in the Super Bowl a lot since the 2002 realignment, including four appearances in the last decade.
Before I officially begin this preview, I have to mention the title. The next two Super Bowls will be in California; Super Bowl LX this upcoming February will take place in Santa Clara, and next year's Super Bowl LXI will be at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood--the second time that the relatively new stadium will host the big game. Also, I chose that exact title as a tribute to Peter Engel, who passed away in March of this year. Other than his best known show, Saved by the Bell, one of Engel's many shows was the underrated California Dreams.
So with that, here's a look at the NFC West entering the 2025 season:
San Francisco 49ers (6-11)
Similar to their nightmare 2020 season, injuries plagued this Niners team in 2024. This team narrowly, and I mean narrowly, lost Super Bowl LVIII to the Chiefs, and what should have been a season that would see them possibly back in the Super Bowl ended up being one plagued by so many key injuries. Deebo Samuel missed games, but at least he returned last season. The same could not be said for Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey. Even worse, Aiyuk received a huge payday entering last season. You know things are messed up when George Kittle, of all people, is your healthiest weapon. The Niners enter 2025 without Deebo, as he's in Washington, and with Aiyuk and CMC healthy... at the moment. CMC is coming off major surgery, so it's going to be a game-by-game process. And they still have Brock Purdy as their QB. Yeah, this will be a tough year for the Niners.
Arizona Cardinals (8-9)
You know, I'll be honest, I feel a bit sorry for the Cardinals. We talk about cursed teams a lot. In football, we say the Browns are cursed, which is true. However, the Browns did a lot of that to themselves. We say the Lions are cursed, which is true. But the Lions do some of that to themselves, not as much as Cleveland, but some of it. When it comes to the Cards, whether they're in Chicago, St. Louis, or their current home of Arizona, they are victims of circumstances. Nobody thinks much of them. And yes, I'm guilty of this, because I've had to remind myself that they went 8-9 last year, much better than the record that entered my mind. Two games out of first place. Can the Cards keep it up? Can they build from this? If Arizona improves from this, we are in for a WILD NFC West this year. They have the QB to do it with. Now we'll see what the people around Kyler Murray will do.
Seattle Seahawks (10-7)
Three seasons passed since the Seahawks traded Russell Wilson, and they've all been interesting. Year One (2022) actually saw Seattle sneak into the playoffs! Year Two (2023) saw the Seahawks narrowly miss out, though both years, they were 9-8, winning records. Last year was Year Three, and they went 10-7. Here's the problem: six of those seven losses were at home. Can you believe that? The 12th Man, that edge that Seattle coveted for the last 10 or so years? Disappeared. Again, six losses at home, with the most egregious loss coming in October against the four-win New York Giants. They started 3-0 and looked like a threat to win the West, but those losses resulted in the Seahawks narrowly losing the division and missing the playoffs. Now, they enter with Sam Darnold as their QB. Darnold's coming off winning 14 games in Minnesota, so there's that factor. The Seahawks will have another interesting, that's a fact. But will it lead to January football? That's the million dollar question.
Los Angeles Rams (10-7)
To borrow a line I've heard in two Looney Tunes shorts, "I don't know they do it, but I know they do it!" In 2023, they were 2-3 after their first five games, and 3-6 and left for dead. Aftermath: won seven of their final eight games, made the playoffs. Last year, they started 1-4, worse five-game start than '23. There's now way they could dig their way out of this, right? Aftermath: won nine of their final dozen games, won the NFC West, reached the Divisional Playoff. The Los Angeles Rams will not quit. They will not go away. In back-to-back years, the Rams have had their backs to the wall, left for dead, looked like there was no way out, but they find a way to bounce back. Their division title came via a deep tiebreaker, but they still did it. The Rams enter 2025 as the team to beat in the West. I can see the Rams winning this division again. Will they make a long run out of this? Well, we've seen them do it before.
* * *
The NFC West is wild, crazy, and absolutely insane. Beautifully, beautifully insane. All four teams really show out and have a tendency to steal games; I've seen it for a lot of years. This year will be no different. We will a very tight and raucous division race once again, and I think the NFC West will make a very wild impact in the conference's Wild Card picture up until the final Sunday of the regular season.
About the Creator
Clyde E. Dawkins
I'm a big sports fan, especially hockey, and I've been a fan of villainesses since I was eight! My favorite shows are The Simpsons and Family Guy, etc.
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