NFC hot takes: How about these surprises from 49ers, Rams, Seahawks?

As we head into the final stretch of the season, the Arizona Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions are riding high. But will the good times keep rolling?

Ahead of Week 12, Yardbarker NFL writers offer a hot take on every NFC team.

NFC East

DALLAS COWBOYS (3-7) | Cowboys beat the Giants but lose every other game | Owners of an 8-1 record against the Giants under head coach Mike McCarthy, Dallas will pummel New York and new starting QB Tommy DeVito on Thanksgiving. But the “W” will be Dallas’ last of its dismal season. With tough matchups against Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay remaining, the Cowboys will finish with 13 losses for the first time since 1988, Hall of Fame coach Tom Landry’s last season with the team.

NEW YORK GIANTS (2-8) | RB Tyrone Tracy Jr. will rush for over 1,000 yards | Averaging 54.5 yards per game, New York’s leading rusher is on pace for 926.5 yards this season, but with DeVito holding the keys to the offense, the team will rely even more heavily on its fifth-round running back. Tracy already leads all rookie running backs with 107 carries, and with three opponents ranked in the bottom 10 against the run left on the schedule, he will be the first Giants rookie to rush for 1,000 yards since Saquon Barkley (1,307) in 2018.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (8-2) | Eagles fall to unexpected foe | Philadelphia is unlikely to win 13 straight games to conclude the regular season, but it will be the Panthers, not the Rams or Ravens, who will snap its winning streak. As an offensive coordinator with Tampa Bay in 2023, Panthers head coach Dave Canales helped the Bucs beat the Eagles by 23 points in last season’s playoffs and will catch Philly sleeping between tough matchups against Baltimore and Pittsburgh.

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (7-4) | Commanders lose NFC East title in Week 16 | With fairly soft schedules to end the regular season, the Commanders and Eagles will finish with 12-5 records. However, a home loss by Washington to Philadelphia on Dec. 22 will give the Eagles the head-to-head tiebreaker needed to win the NFC East. The Commanders, who haven’t won at home against the Eagles since 2020, must settle for a wild-card berth this season. — Bruce Ewing

NFC West

ARIZONA CARDINALS (6-4) | They will win the NFC West and a playoff game | The Cardinals are one of the biggest surprises in football this season, and they still have more surprises ahead of them, thanks to their quarterback. Not only will Kyler Murray — who is having his best season in the NFL (2,058 yards passing, 12 TD  passes) — lead them to an NFC West title and a home playoff game, but he will lead them to at least one postseason win.

LOS ANGELES RAMS (5-5) | Cooper Kupp is in his last season with the Rams | The Rams resisted the temptation to deal Kupp at the trade deadline, but he will still not be back with the team next season. His age (31), mounting injury issues and declining production (47 catches, 488 yards receiving) are going to be too much for them to look past after this season.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (5-5) | They missed their championship window | After years of having “the best roster in football,” something is missing with this 49ers team, and they are not going to find it this season. Even worse, given the ages of some of their best players (OT Trent Williams is 36) and the rise of other contenders in the NFC, they missed their best opportunity to win a Super Bowl with this group.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (5-5) | Geno Smith won’t be the quarterback next season | Smith did an incredible job turning his career around in Seattle and has given the Seahawks big moments, including a Week 11 win over San Francisco. But his inconsistency and turnover issues (11) this season are going to be too much for the Seahawks, who can release him after this season and carry only $13 million in dead money and save $25 million in salary-cap space. — Adam Gretz

NFC North

CHICAGO BEARS (4-6) | Bears will fire HC Matt Eberflus after a Thanksgiving Day loss | The writing has long been on the wall for Eberflus, who has led Chicago to an abysmal 14-30 record during his 2.5-year tenure as head coach. With the Bears likely to lose their Thanksgiving matchup at Detroit by a large margin, it seems as if that would present the perfect excuse for Chicago to finally cut ties with yet another failed coaching experiment.

DETROIT LIONS (9-1) | Lions will win out and claim first Super Bowl title | Detroit has steamrolled nearly every opponent this season, boasting an NFL-best +159 point differential — an average margin of victory of 15.9 points. The only remaining matchup on the regular-season schedule that appears threatening is a Dec. 15 home game against the Buffalo Bills (9-2). Book a Super Bowl trip (and a win) in New Orleans for Feb. 9. 

GREEN BAY PACKERS (7-3) | Paying QB Jordan Love was a massive mistake | In exchange for Green Bay handing him $220 million over four years, Love has tossed at least one interception in each of his eight starts this season and is tied for the league lead in interceptions with 11. Love has led two game-winning drives this season, but his reckless style of play will eventually catch up to him and cost Green Bay chances at a Super Bowl run.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS (8-2) | Vikings will get blown out in the wild-card round | Minnesota has fizzled out after starting 5-0 for the first time since 2016, with QB Sam Darnold throwing as many interceptions (five) as TD passes over the team’s past three games. Minnesota’s defense — which has allowed the fourth-fewest points per game this season (17) — has looked stellar, but it will collapse in the playoffs if the offense continues to stall. — Joshua Eaton

NFC South

ATLANTA FALCONS (6-5) | Falcons will be one-and-done in the playoffs | Atlanta has a worse point differential (-30) through 11 games than it did last season (-19) when it went 7-10. The Falcons have a two-game lead in the division and should make the playoffs, but with the Packers (7-3), Vikings (8-2) or Commanders (7-4) looming as a potential wild-card opponent, their season will end with a home playoff loss.

CAROLINA PANTHERS (3-7) | Quarterback Bryce Young should start in 2025 | The Panthers’ problems go beyond Young, who has won his past two starts. Carolina has the league’s worst defense — averaging 31 points allowed per game — which should make improving the unit the priority over throwing a different quarterback into this awful situation.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (4-7) | Hiring Darren Rizzi full-time would be a mistake | Despite winning their first two games under Rizzi, the Saints should look elsewhere for their next head coach. From 2000 to 2023, 10 of 45 interim coaches received full-time jobs, but only two (Dallas’ Jason Garrett and Tennessee’s Mike Mularkey) posted a winning record after having the interim tag removed.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (4-6) | Bucky Irving is the best running back of the 2024 class | Irving would be the first running back taken in a re-draft of April’s NFL Draft. The former Oregon Duck was the fifth back selected but ranks first among rookie running backs in yards from scrimmage (680). (h/t Stathead) — Eric Smithling