Seahawks, Rams, 49ers, Cardinals: NFC West fans preview the 2022 NFL season

In the latest of our fan preview articles ahead of the new season, we look to the NFC West to see what their fans think of their respective teams and the NFL as a whole.

‘The Best in the West’ is a pithy phrase that can be thrown around a lot, but when it comes to the NFL, you can make a pretty reasonable argument that the best are in the West.

With the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams residing there, as well as the NFC runners-up in the form of the San Francisco 49ers, this division holds a lot of pedigree and leaves the rest of the league looking up at them as we prepare to enter the 2022 NFL season.

But what do the fans make of the state of their teams and how do they think it will play out? We reached out to a number of fans from all teams in the AFC North and asked them their views on their respective franchises, asking five of the same questions to each responder before giving them one unique question each, after which we will reveal our prediction for how the division will look come the end of the regular season.

What went well for you last season?

There is probably very little that can be taken away from the 2021 season as a positive. However, the latter stages of the season saw Rashaad Penny finally show those in Seattle why they picked him in the first round back in 2018. Linebacker Jordyn Brooks shone and broke the franchise single-season tackle record (183) in the process. But a lot more pressure will be stacked on his shoulders following Bobby Wagner’s departure.

What area do you need to improve on?

Where do we start? The issues at quarterback are known so let’s put that to one side – for now. Probably the best description of Seattle’s defence last season was ‘bend but don’t break’. Our yards allowed