MNF: NFC West Greatness on Display For All To See

Be prepared for lots of discussion about how this game is meaningful, and both of these teams are alive for the playoffs, as your prevailing story line of the night.  Both teams are 3-7, and the winner will be only one game behind division leaders St. Louis and Seattle.  San Francisco has been the better team, which is the essence of damning with faint praise.  Every time they get back into contention, they lay a giant turd, the most recent one being the home shutout to Tampa Bay.  The rest of the division, though, keeps bringing them back into play.

Arizona, meanwhile, is a lot closer to a team worthy of the first overall pick than a competitive 4 win team.  Their victories have come in close games, while they have looked non-competitive in many others.  Larry Fitzgerald has already made some comments that suggest he may want out when his contract is up after the 2011 season (he will be 29, and the Cardinals cannot use the franchise tag), and the rest of this year and next may be as much about trying to appease Fitzgerald and show signs of progress.

If the 49ers show up prepared, they should win this game, even on the road.  However, 49ers and prepared haven’t exactly been words that go together in 2010.

[photo via Getty]