Inside: Previewing the NFC West, where the defending champions are chased by the favored Rams and always-dangerous 49ers. The Cardinals could also threaten as soon as 2031.

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NFC West Preview

This is a tough group to project.

The Seahawks return a mostly intact Super Bowl-winning roster, and yet the Rams are the heavy betting favorites. The 49ers have a win-now roster that could beat both. But someone has to lose.

Seattle Seahawks

(14-3, won Super Bowl)

Headline change: Offensive exits. Gone are offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and running back Kenneth Walker III. Both were key to last season’s offense finishing in the top 10 in most metrics, as Kubiak’s scheme proved a perfect match for his players. Walker was particularly important in the playoffs, leading all players in touches, total yards and touchdowns en route to the Super Bowl MVP award.

Subtle change: Continuity. Defending champions rarely retain 20 of 22 starters, and Seattle’s offseason depth departures were mostly patched in free agency and the draft. First-round running back Jadarian Price is, by all reports, a terrific scheme fit, and edge Dante Fowler is part of a group of players expected to provide additional depth for a Mike Macdonald-led defense that allowed the fewest points. This should remain the league’s most complete team thanks to a quietly strong special teams unit.

Lingering question: Does the offense regress? Hard to expect it to improve after last year. The 2025 Seahawks scored the most points in franchise history, jumping from 18th in the league in scoring in 2024 to third in Kubiak’s first season. He has since taken Seattle’s quarterbacks coach and run game coordinator with him to Las Vegas. Kubiak’s replacement, Brian Fleury, is a first-time play caller who spent the past six seasons working for Kyle Shanahan.

Projection: 11-6. It’s tough to repeat as Super Bowl champions without a Tier 1 quarterback. Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, John Elway, Troy Aikman and Joe Montana are the only quarterbacks to win back-to-back titles since 1980. Sam Darnold was good enough in the playoffs last season. It’s fair to wonder whether he can do it again.

Los Angeles Rams

(12-5, lost in NFC Championship Game)

Headline: Big-time defense. The pass rush and secondary were addressed in the best way possible, with Myles Garrett joining corners Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson in an already strong defense. Early returns are positive, with this group impressing in joint practices against the Cowboys. There’s still time for an Aaron Donald decision, too.

Subtle: Special teams adjustments. Special teams gaffes cost this team repeatedly last season, including in the NFC Championship Game loss to Seattle. It was bad enough in the regular season that coordinator Chase Blackburn was fired just before the playoffs. His replacement is Bubba Ventrone, who coached a Browns special teams group that … finished 32nd in DVOA last season (the Rams were 26th). At least the kicker problem was solved with Harrison Mevis hitting 18 of 19 attempts after taking over in Week 10.

Question: Alaric Jackson suspension? The Rams’ starting left tackle could miss time after he was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence. Los Angeles is 0-4 in its past four games without Jackson; Matthew Stafford took three sacks and threw three interceptions in the one game Jackson missed in 2025 (a 27-24 upset loss to the Falcons).

Projection: 12-5. Super teams rarely win the Super Bowl, with only three of the past 10 preseason favorites living up to expectations. Seasons rarely turn out the way we expect, but that’s no reason to bet against the Rams, who were about six yards from a potential Super Bowl appearance in 2025. It all seems a little too perfect. They’ll claim the division, at least.

San Francisco 49ers

(12-5 in 2025)

Headline: New receiver room. Mike Evans is the biggest name among an overhauled group that swapped Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings and Brandon Aiyuk for Evans, an in-shape Deebo Samuel and rookie (and 33rd overall pick) De’Zhaun Stribling. Stribling is impressing everyone in SF this offseason, and Evans is a perfect fit for Shanahan’s offense.

Subtle: Recovered stars. Fred Warner and Nick Bosa played in just nine of a possible 38 combined games last season. It’s a big reason San Francisco finished outside the top 10 in yards allowed (20th) for the first time since Bosa was drafted in 2019. Both are on track for Week 1, though Bosa has missed practice since Aug. 3 with knee tendinitis. Monitoring.

Question: Can they stay healthy? “Things are getting back to normal, which, yes, means the 49ers do have several starters out with injuries.” That’s from my colleagues Vic Tafur and Matt Barrows, who shared an updated depth chart ahead of tonight’s preseason action. Fingers crossed for them this season.

Projection: 10-7. It’s fair to say this team overachieved last season, given how close the substation is depleted it was (only McCaffrey and fullback Kyle Juszczyk started all 17 games on offense). The 49ers’ 6-1 record in one-score games concerns me, and last year’s schedule was among the league’s easiest. Still, expect a postseason berth for the fifth time in six seasons.

Arizona Cardinals

(3-14 in 2025)

Headline: Kyler Murray cut. Seven years after Arizona spent the No. 1 pick on Murray, the once-promising quarterback was released for cap purposes. He had been out for the season after leading the Cardinals to a 2-3 start, including narrow losses to the Seahawks (23-20), 49ers (16-15) and Titans (22-21). Jacoby Brissett was better than his 1-11 record suggests, but he isn’t much more than a serviceable spot starter.

Subtle: A run game. Last year was rough. James Conner was hurt in Week 3. Michael Carter led the team with 333 yards. Emari Demercado dropped the football. They overcorrected this offseason with No. 3 pick Jeremiyah Love, former Falcons backup Tyler Allgeier and a healthy Conner.

Question: How bad does it get? The Cardinals finished 2025 with nine consecutive losses, six of which were by multiple scores. The offense is average. The defense has been among the league’s worst for four straight years and failed to make any meaningful improvements. Even their 2026 schedule release video was awful.

Projection: 2-15. Arizona has maybe four winnable games this season, though they’re probably underdogs to the Giants, Jets, Saints and Raiders. The league’s toughest schedule, a bad defense and average quarterback play (at best) bodes poorly for a team that can take consolation in an early 2027 pick.

Extra Points

🎤 Fernando Mendoza took his first snaps as a Raider against the Cardinals. Michael Silver spoke to Mendoza about his early impressions of the NFL in Sin City.

🇺🇸 America’s (most valuable) team is again the Cowboys, a reminder that winning Super Bowls is largely irrelevant.

📈 Running it back. Did Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson and Jonathan Taylor revive the running back position? Each got extensions averaging $22 million-plus. Daniel Popper explores whether this matters for the rest of the league.

🕛 Ben Johnson’s day. I’m a big fan of the Bears’ coach and can’t help but again mention this day-in-the-life story with the man who wants to break records.

▶️ Most-clicked: The unbelievable story of a murder and the man who almost became the Seahawks’ general manager.

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Mikel Arteta says he wants Ethan Nwaneri at Arsenal, but admits the teenager needs game time, while there is also a general recognition that “certain players” may need to leave this summer.

Nwaneri, 19, has played a large part in Arsenal’s pre-season, featuring as a midfielder in each of their five games and scoring two goals. The academy graduate had a mixed 2025-26 season, playing 12 games for Arsenal before a challenging loan spell at Marseille, in which all three of his Ligue 1 starts came before Roberto De Zerbi departed in February.

Arteta has been complimentary of Nwaneri throughout pre-season, saying “He looks like a different man” after Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Girona in July.

Asked what the plans were for the midfielder this season and whether he wants him to stay at the club, the Arsenal manager said: “I don’t know on the plans, but he certainly opens your eyes in terms of how a young player can evolve in such a short period and what you can get out of a difficult and challenging experience abroad. He’s done it in a brilliant way.

“It’s unquestionable the talent, desire, love and passion he has for the game. It’s something I always loved about Ethan. And then, he’s had some great games and shown everyone he has the ability to be here.

“I want him to be at the club. But in the medium and long-term, what is best for the player? Ethan needs to play football. If he stays here, it will be because we guarantee he can have those minutes. Otherwise, it is something that is not good for anybody.”

While his first team breakthrough came on the right wing, when Bukayo Saka was injured in the 2024-25 season, Nwaneri has almost exclusively been used in central midfield since last summer’s pre-season.

His direct competition is club captain Martin Odegaard, while the additions of Eberechi Eze last August and Bruno Guimaraes may also make those minutes more difficult to come by.

Speaking more generally rather than about Nwaneri specifically, Arteta also recognised the need for Arsenal to do both incoming and outgoing business in the rest of this transfer window.

“It’s always the case,” he said. “If there is an opportunity to go both ways, we will have to see how the market responds and what we can do as a club.

“We have certain (outgoing) possibilities we can explore if the right ones come across. So far with the numbers we have, we are very happy, but we have to accept there are certain players that probably have to move.”

One of those outgoing possibilities is a bid of €45million (£38.4m; $51.8m) from Galatasaray for Gabriel Martinelli. Arsenal have been open to trading the 25-year-old, whose contract expires in 2027 but has an option of a further year.

Meanwhile, with William Saliba out injured for an extended period, Arsenal hold an interest in Bayer Leverkusen’s Jarrell Quansah and Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa.

“What I can tell you is that the ambition of the club is big,” Arteta added. “We want to improve and evolve the squad. In order to do that we have detected some areas that can be strengthened and that is what we are trying to do.”

As things stand, Arsenal have signed Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge, Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United and Illan Meslier as a free agent after his departure from Leeds United. Tzolis and Guimaraes could start their Community Shield clash with Manchester City on Sunday, August 16, while their late World Cup returnees could also feature.

None of Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi or Bukayo Saka were included in Arteta’s matchday squad for the 1-1 draw against Como in midweek, but ahead of this weekend, he said: “They will be available. They trained with us today and will train tomorrow. If they are in a condition we expect them to be, they will be involved.

“We haven’t noticed anything (abnormal with Rice or Saka). They have individual plans through their time with the national team. They have improved and in the rest period they had, hey both had specific programmes which they’ve been doing. So far, what I’ve seen in the last few days has been really good.”

Saka and Rice are yet to feature for Arsenal during pre-season. (Roberto Schmidt via Getty Images)

Arsenal will still be without Jurrien Timber, however. The Netherlands right-back has been recovering from a groin injury initially suffered in March that kept him out of the World Cup.

“Jurrien is progressing really well,” Arteta said. “He’s on the pitch. We’re ramping up certain actions, especially the volume and the load. He’s on a good trajectory but there are still a few weeks to go.

“I don’t know (if he will be back before the international break). He needs to start training with the group in the next week or so, hopefully, and then see how he progresses from there. It’s been a long-term issue, and we want to make sure every step we take is the right one. He’s such an important player for us.”