NFL standings: 49ers in 2nd place in NFC West after beating Rams

The 49ers aren’t first in the NFC West despite getting back to .500 after being the Rams, but the Niners do have three division wins in their belt.

The San Francisco 49ers are witnessing a pretty volatile and wholly unpredictable NFC West this season, one that’s seeing the defending Super Bowl-champion Los Angeles Rams tumble this year.

And the unpredictable Seattle Seahawks are in the divisional driver’s seat despite trading away quarterback Russell Wilson over the offseason and entering 2022 with what was perceived to be one of the weakest rosters in the entire league.

Who would have thought NFL standings would have played out like that nearly halfway through the season?

Nevertheless, the Niners have to feel pretty good about getting back to the .500 mark after back-to-back losses in Weeks 6 and 7 against the Atlanta Falcons and Kansas City Chiefs, respectively.

In the wake of San Francisco’s 31-14 Week 8 win over the Los Angeles Rams, not only does head coach Kyle Shanahan squad continue its regular-season domination over its NFC West rivals from Southern California, having won eight in a row now, but the 49ers now have a crucial three wins within the division itself, including those two against Los Angeles.

That could be massive in NFL standings once playoff seeding is determined.

NFL standings: 49ers improve to 2nd in NFC West after Week 8

The Niners’ victory over LA will matter when looking at tiebreakers within the NFC West, particularly if they finish with an identical record with one of the other divisional teams.

Fortunately for San Francisco, the Minnesota Vikings defeated the Arizona Cardinals in Week 8, but the opposite and unfortunate news was seeing the New York Giants fall on the road to the Seahawks, meaning Seattle remains in first place within the division.

The NFL standings for the NFC West are as follows entering Week 9:

1. Seattle Seahawks (5-3)
2. San Francisco 49ers (4-4)
3. Los Angeles Rams (3-4)
4. Arizona Cardinals (3-5)

Read More: Could Niners run away with NFC West in 2022?

Arizona, Seattle and Los Angeles all have divisional losses, and no team aside from the 49ers has more than one divisional win.

The Niners have three of those, by the way, including a Week 2 win over the Hawks.

San Francisco’s next divisional game will be on Monday, Nov. 21 when it travels to Mexico City to face the Cardinals.