NFC West Predictions: 49ers Still Favorites To Win Division Despite Seahawks Loss

Monday night’s clash between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks gave the division leaders the chance to all but wrap up their NFC West crown. However, thanks to a narrow overtime victory, Seattle kept the race alive in week 11.

How did that affect the odds of the two teams to win the division? What are the chances of both making the playoffs? Can either the Los Angeles Rams or Arizona Cardinals catch them?

Here are your 2019 NFC West predictions.

Despite losing to the Seahawks, the 49ers are still favored to win the division. FiveThirtyEight weighs their playoff chances at 91 percent while they have a 54 percent chance to win the division. As far as Super Bowl odds, however, they are judged as 9 percent favorites, just one percent less than the New Orleans Saints.

That still leaves them as a solid pick to make at least the NFC Championship game. Meanwhile, in spite of the Monday victory, the Seahawks still have just a 5 percent chance at winning the Super Bowl, less than either the Green Bay Packers or Minnesota Vikings.

Their odds of winning the division have improved, however, to 43 percent while they are now favored to win a playoff place with the chances at a mouth-watering 82 percent. This is despite the fact that Seattle appears to have an easier schedule for the remainder of the season.

The Seahawks own an 8-2 record, as opposed to the 49ers' 8-1. This means San Francisco could put some breathing room between them with a win against the Arizona Cardinals this weekend. Beyond that, however, and the 49ers have some pretty tough games coming up.

San Francisco faces the Green Bay Packers, Baltimore Ravens and New Orleans Saints in three consecutive weeks after the matchup against the bottom-of-the-division Cardinals. All three are division leaders as of the time of writing and all have good chances of making the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks won’t face another division-leading team until week 17 when they square off against the 49ers again to, presumably, decide the fate of the NFC West. They do face the Vikings, Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles, all of whom are in second place in their respective divisions.

As far as the other two teams in the division, neither look like serious playoff contenders. The Rams made it all the way to the Super Bowl last season but only have a 1 percent chance of repeating history this year. Meanwhile, their playoff odds, in general, are hanging on by a thread at just 22 percent and their chances of an NFC West title stand at a measly 3 percent.

The Arizona Cardinals are even worse off, with less than a one-percent shot at the postseason, but didn’t have quite the same expectations going into the season. The betting odds reflect very similar findings.

The FanDuel Sportsbook lists the 49ers (-210) as favorites to win the division, while the Seahawks (+175) are predictably in second place. The Rams (+1900) still have a life but are very long odds for the title and should the Cardinals (+35000) win it, they will make someone very, very rich.