There’s no way around it. The Seattle Seahawks are in desperate shape right now. To be fair, they’ve been here before – back in 2015 they started the season 2-4 and they rallied to make the playoffs. However, this time around things feel different. For one thing, the competition within their own division is a whole lot tougher these days. At least two of their NFC West rivals appear to be serious contenders to make deep postseason runs and the Seahawks are falling further behind them in the standings every week.

Here’s how the division is shaping up after six weeks of play.

Cardinals (6-0) crushed the Browns (3-3), 37-14

[Jeff Lange/Beacon Journal]

Last year, the Seahawks were the NFL’s runaway train in the first half of the season. This year, it’s the Cardinals that look like the team to beat and they’re doing it in a much more balanced way than the 2020 Seattle team that eventually imploded in second half of the season.

This Arizona team is so talented and well-rounded that Kyler Murray’s four touchdown passes and 129.0 passer rating against Cleveland weren’t the main story. Instead, it was once again their defense that impressed the most. The Cardinals excel at getting pressure and creating takeaways, ranking second in the league in turnover differential (+8). They sacked Baker Mayfield five times on Sunday.

Houston is next on their schedule, so we might as well pencil them in at 7-0.

Rams (5-1) destroyed the Giants (1-5), 38-11

Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com

The Cardinals aren’t the only heavyweight in this division, either. The Rams have recovered from their loss to Arizona with two straight convincing wins.

Matt Stafford seems to have shaken off his rust (or possibly gotten healthy), posting four more touchdown passes, bringing his season total to 16 – tied with Dak Prescott for the third-most in the NFL. His connection with Cooper Kupp (130 yards, two touchdowns) is especially potent.

Stafford has a revenge game against the Lions coming up next.

49ers (2-3) had a bye week

Chris Coduto-USA TODAY Sports

The 49ers had the week off and it looks like Jimmy Garoppolo is ready to return to the lineup against the Colts in Week 7.

Seahawks (2-4) lost to Steelers (3-3), 23-20 in OT

Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports

What a difference a year makes. At this time last season, Seattle was still undefeated and Russell Wilson was an early MVP candidate. Despite a shaky defense everything seemed to be breaking their way. Fast-forward to the present and this team is in shambles. Wilson is currently on injured reserve, they’re already four games behind the division leader and their first-round pick (going to the Jets) is looking better every week.

There were some encouraging signs in Pittsburgh, mostly on defense. The Seahawks finally remembered how to use Jamal Adams, rookie cornerback Tre Brown looked promising and their tackling was much better in general. That said, moral victories aren’t going to cut it anymore. This team needs to get to 4-4 going into the bye to give Wilson a shot at getting them a wild card spot. Winning against the Saints on Monday night is an absolute must.

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