Monday Night Football Recap: 49ers gain ground in NFC West

It is no secret coming into Week 12 that the San Francisco 49ers have failed to live up to expectations this season as their hopes to win a NFC West division title like predicted have only gotten worse with every passing week, but there has been some light at the end of the tunnel as no other team in the NFC West has played much better as the Seattle Seahawks (5-6), St. Louis Rams (5-6) and the Arizona Cardinals (3-7) all have losing records.

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With that being said, the race for the NFC West division title isn’t over just yet for Mike Singletary and his squad as a win over the division rival Arizona Cardinals would put them just a game behind the division-leading St. Louis Rams.

At this point in time it seems like the St. Louis Rams are the team to beat in the NFC West division as they have played consistently well throughout the season and given some of the best teams in the league a run for their money with rookie quarterback Sam Bradford living up to his number one overall pick, but on Monday night the San Francisco 49ers were looking to prove that they are the team to beat within the division as they set out to dominate the division rival Arizona Cardinals.

Coming into this week 12 matchup, the San Francisco 49ers had been a terrible team on the road as they had lost all three games away from home, but they were looking to change that heading to Arizona to take on the lowly Cardinals.

There is no question that the 49ers were favored to come out on top in this matchup as they were without a doubt the best team of the two on both sides of the football, but the Cardinals can be a dangerous team, especially on the offense, with weapons like wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald downfield.

Unfortunately for quarterback Derek Anderson and company, the Arizona Cardinals struggles all day long to get anything going on the offense as the football and were ultimately dominated by the lockdown defense of the San Francisco 49ers 27-6.

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Obviously, this win for the San Francisco 49ers was a step in the right direction as they have gained some ground i

n the NFC West division, but it didn’t come without a price as they lost their perennial Pro Bowl running back Frank Gore to a season ending hip injury.

Fortunately, veteran running back Brian Westbrook was able to step in and rack up 136 rushing yards and a touchdown

. Along with Westbrook, quarterback Troy Smith also had a decent game with 125 passing yards, one passing touchdown and an interception.

Even though the 49ers were able to get the win and improve their chances of winning the NFC West division, they won’t be able to keep gaining ground in the division they continue to play like this as it just won’t be enough against some of the best teams in the league.