Rich Eisen recently ranked the NFC West as his fifth most difficult division going into 2025, giving credit to the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals as teams that have improved and simply stating that the San Francisco 49ers have to be better this year after going 6-11 in the regular season. He may have also revealed his pick for the representative of the NFC in this year’s Super Bowl when he said the Los Angeles Rams have a clear path to win the conference.
“Number five on the list is the NFC West,” Eisen explained, “The Rams have a clear shot to win this conference, folks... The Rams came as close as anybody to beating the Eagles in last year’s playoffs, and they’re stronger. I think Seattle is stronger. I think they are going to have a better offensive season... Cardinals are one of those sneaky teams that are always in a game and the Niners have to be better.”
Despite the Los Angeles Rams taking the division last year and adding even more talent this offseason, the 49ers have recently begin gaining traction as the favorites to win the NFC West. Draftkings Sportsbook currently has the 49ers (+150) over the Rams (+195) to take the crown despite San Francisco losing a plethora of free agents in order to sign Brock Purdy to a 5-year $265 million dollar contract that will average $53 million a year.
The 49ers do have one of the easiest schedule in 2025 with a opponent win percentage of .415 while the Rams rank in the middle with a percentage of .491, but even then it seems disrespectful to count the LA out when Sean McVay has arguably one of his most talented rosters since becoming a head coach in the NFL.
Where would you rank the NFC West? If you ask me the division will be better than a lot of fans may think. The Cardinals and Seahawks are the biggest question marks within the division but have proven they can be competitive every season. I’d rank the NFC West as a top three contender, just two spots of Eisen’s pick.