NFC West standings: Seahawks fall further behind after 49ers win

The Seattle Seahawks almost had an ideal weekend of results to make up for their own disappointing Thursday night result against the Denver Broncos.

It was a disastrous home loss for the Los Angeles Rams to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, but the Rams are 2-4 and dealing with enough injuries to put their heavily hyped Super Bowl dreams in the toilet.

What would've been great for the Seahawks is the Washington Commanders upsetting the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, home of the Seahawks' most recent Super Bowl win. Well, the Commanders looked like they were toast at 23-3 down and with Terry McLaurin carted off with a serious knee injury, but Mike Evans' own injury seemingly stymied the 49ers offense in the second half, and Washington pulled within 23-17 in the fourth quarter.

A would-be go-ahead touchdown by Jeremy McNichols was wiped out by a face mask penalty on Commanders guard Chris Paul, who had a fist full of face mask and was rightfully penalized. That the 49ers were allowed unlimited helmet-to-helmet shots without any penalties? Different story.

Here's a look at the shot that Diggs took straight to the helmet on this pass. He also had to have his hand looked at. No flags thrown on this play pic.twitter.com/NPkLQo8zwC

- Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) October 20, 2026

Anyway, Malik Mustapha (who's not going to be popular around these parts any time soon) made a clutch 4th down stop on Treylon Burks to deny the Commanders on a must-have 4th down after the two-minute warning. Washington got the ball back and was gifted 15 yards on a personal foul penalty for hitting Luke McCaffrey on a fair caught punt. Jayden Daniels got the Commanders within striking distance of an all-time comeback, but he took an intentional grounding penalty that also required a 10-second runoff.

Another confusing route tree by David Blough at the end of the game. This play never had a chance.

All #Commanders receivers running downfield and not working the middle of the field.

There would have been plenty of time to clock it after.#RaiseHailpic.twitter.com/gJPTqtLNx0

- Carolina Commander (@SC_Commanderr) October 20, 2026

The Hail Mary attempt... well there was no attempt, because the Commanders o-line vomited all over the grass.

Jayden Daniels gets sacked as time expires. 49ers win 23-17 pic.twitter.com/7NMR0apwfI

- COMMANDERS FOOTBALL (@HogsHaven) October 20, 2026

Ah well. The Commanders tried but ultimately they couldn't also beat the 49ers after previously beating the Seahawks.

NFC West standings, Week 6

1. San Francisco 49ers (6-0, 3-0 NFCW)
2. Seattle Seahawks (3-3, 1-1 NFCW)
3. Arizona Cardinals (2-4, 1-2 NFCW)
4. Los Angeles Rams (2-4, 0-2 NFCW)

Next week's opponents

San Francisco 49ers at Atlanta Falcons

Seattle Seahawks vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Arizona Cardinals vs. Denver Broncos

Los Angeles Rams at Las Vegas Raiders

Let's face it: Seattle has to worry about making the playoffs before thinking about some miraculous division comeback. The Falcons could be live dogs against the 49ers (especially with Mike Evans expected to miss time with an Achilles injury), but the Seahawks have to snap their skid before they hit super crisis mode.