2024 NFC West race: Can anyone challenge the 49ers? How the Rams and Seahawks could put up a fight

The NFC West’s four teams possess a wide range of outcomes in 2024. It’s been a parity-filled division since 2015, with each of its four teams — the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams (both thrice), the Seattle Seahawks (twice) and the Arizona Cardinals (once) — locking down the top spot in that time.

The 49ers won their second division crown in a row in 2023 with a 12-5 record and were able to rest their stars in their regular season finale against the Los Angeles Rams, who went 10-7. The Seahawks were one spot behind them with a 9-8 record in the final season of the Peta Carroll era (2010-2023), and the rebuilding Cardinals brought up the rear with a 4-13 record in their first season under coach Jonathan Gannon. 

San Francisco’s offense hummed along to 28.9 points per game on the strength of 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey, the best running back in football, and Pro Bowl quarterback Brock Purdy, who set a new NFL single-season record for passing yards per attempt (9.6) (among quarterbacks with a minimum of 350 pass attempts) and led the league in passer rating (113.0) in 2023. 

Los Angeles will likely remain the 49ers’ top challenger after bolstering its offensive line, secondary and defensive front in the offseason. Seattle has the right pieces on offense, but it will remain to be seen if new coach Mike Macdonald can make a turnaround big enough on that side of the ball to get it done. Arizona should be much improved with a full season of a healthy Kyler Murray at quarterback and the addition of generational wide receiver prospect Marvin Harrison Jr. (fourth overall pick in 2024 NFL Draft out of Ohio State), but it doesn’t quite have what it needs defensively to slow down the rest of the division just yet. 

Here is how the 49ers, Rams, and Seahawks could end up as the NFC West champions.

San Francisco 49ers
Coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense reached another level with a full season of CMC around in 2023. McCaffrey led the NFL in rushing yards (1,459) and scrimmage yards (2,023) while co-leading the league in touchdowns (21) along with Miami Dolphins Pro Bowl running back Raheem Mostert. 

Running the ball (14 touchdowns) or receiving the ball (seven touchdowns), he was a threat to score. His presence opened up the passing game for Purdy, who became the fifth quarterback all-time to throw for 30 or more touchdowns (31) and 4,000 (4,280) in 2023.

30 pass TD and 4,000 pass yards in first season as full-time starter NFL History

  2023 Brock Purdy  2023 Jordan Love  2020 Justin Herbert  2018 Patrick Mahomes   1999 Kurt Warner* Full-time starter = started at least 50% of team games

Pretty much every key offensive player for the 49ers led the NFL in some notable metric last season from Purdy and McCaffrey to Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle. 

NFL leaders/co-leaders this season on 49ersPlayerSTAT THEY LED OR CO-LED THE NFL INBrock Purdy

Pass yards/attempt (9.6) and passer rating (113.0)

Christian McCaffrey

Rush yards (1,459) and scrimmage TD (21)

Deebo Samuel 

YAC/rec among WR (8.8)

Brandon Aiyuk

Percentage of catches to go for a first down or a TD (81.3%)

George Kittle

Yards/catch among TE (15.7)

Defensively, the 49ers were just as good, ranking third in the NFL in scoring defense (17.5 points per game). Many of the key players who led to that figure — 2022 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa, All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Javon Hargrave — remain in place. San Francisco also added another potent edge rusher in Leonard Floyd on a two-year, $20 million contract, a player who registered a career-high 10.5 sacks with the Buffalo Bills in 2023. 

San Francisco has what it needs to not only win the NFC West again but also the NFC as a whole. 

Los Angeles Rams
It appears Sean McVay has a cloning laboratory for high-level receiver play in the same way the Green Bay Packers have one for high-level quarterback play. 

With 2021 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp missing five games because of injury last season, rookie fifth-round pick Puka Nacua put together the greatest rookie receiving season in NFL history: his 105 catches and 1,486 receiving yards were both the most ever by a rookie. When Nacua, Kupp, second-year running back Kyren Williams (1,144 rushing yards, third-most in the NFL, in 12 games played) and quarterback Matthew Stafford all played, Los Angeles averaged nearly 30 points per game (28.5), and Stafford threw 18 touchdowns to only three interceptions. Oh, and the Rams were victorious in six of those eight games. Their yards per play in those was 6.8, which would rank as the third-highest by any team in the Super Bowl era (since 1966). Pretty, pretty good.

Rams with big 4 on offense all playing (2024 season)W-L: 6-2PPG: 28.5YPG: 398.9Stafford TD-INT: 18-3