NFL standings: 49ers relinquish NFC West lead to Seahawks

In a development no one saw in NFL standings after Week 7, the 49ers are now third in the NFC West with a shocking surprise in first place.

The San Francisco 49ers used the first six weeks of the 2022 season to help build something of a cushion in the NFC West in terms of NFL standings, namely by winning two inter-divisional games against the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams in Weeks 2 and 4, respectively.

This, despite head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad getting out to a lackluster 3-3 record heading into their highly anticipated matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7.

Well, the Niners may want to forget what happened in Week 7, as two notable developments took place that led Shanahan and Co. to fall from first in the NFC West all the way down to third.

For starters, San Francisco was completely walloped by the Chiefs in a 44-23 blowout that saw quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Co. dominate the second half, while the 49ers completely crumbled on both sides of the ball.

And if that wasn’t weird enough, Seattle pulled off a convincing 37-23 road victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, a team many thought would heavily compete with Kansas City for ownership in the AFC West.

Not so much, though.

With that Hawks victory, they now own the NFC West after seven weeks, while the Niners’ recent two-game skid, including the Week 6 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, drops them down in the standings.

NFL standings: 49ers fall to 3rd in NFC West, Seahawks take division lead

The 3-3 Los Angeles Rams were idle in Week 7 on the bye, but there was plenty of movement around them with all four teams boasting that same record heading into the week.

The Arizona Cardinals managed to knock off the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football to improve to 3-4, but that won’t keep the Red Birds out of the NFC West basement. San Francisco still has those two inter-division wins to get the tiebreaker.

After Week 7, the NFL standings for the NFC West are as follows:

• Seattle Seahawks (4-3)
• Los Angeles Rams (3-3)
• San Francisco 49ers (3-4)
• Arizona Cardinals (3-4)

It’s so strange to think about Seattle being in first place within the division, especially after trading away quarterback Russell Wilson during the offseason and promoting backup signal-caller Geno Smith into the starting role.

Read More: NFL standings: Can 49ers run away with NFC West in 2022?

Suddenly, Smith and head coach Pete Carroll now have the Seahawks in a legitimate conversation for a playoff berth, especially considering how weak the entire NFC has appeared this season.

If there’s good news, though, the 49ers face off against those Rams again in Week 8 and have won seven of their last eight games, including what happened in the NFC Championship game last February.

Perhaps the Niners can proverbially “right the ship” and get back atop the division, as no one is exactly running away with it right now.

They’ll have to play infinitely better than they did against the Chiefs, though.