Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

What we know: The Cardinals lead the NFC West with a 7-5 record.

What it means: Arizona appears most likely to finish the season with nine or 10 victories.

Number of 7-5 starts in NFL from 2001 through 2007: 29

Teams that went from 7-5 to 7-9: 1

From 7-5 to 8-8: 5

From 7-5 to 9-7: 10

From 7-5 to 10-6: 9

From 7-5 to 11-5: 4

The Cardinals have three of their final four games at home. The schedule: Rams, Vikings, Patriots (road) and Seahawks.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

The premise: 'Tis the season when disappointed NFL fans call for their teams to take a longer look at young talent on the roster.

The reality: Teams generally do not have a long list of promising players sitting on their benches. For Seattle, Mansfield Wrotto and Brandon Coutu might be logical candidates.

The Seahawks: After looking at the 49ers' youngest players, we take a quick look at the 20 youngest players on the Seahawks' roster. Each is listed by name, position and current age, starting with the youngest.

1. Brandon Miller, DE, 22: Recently claimed off waivers from the Falcons.
2. Justin Forsett, RB, 23: Returned two punts and one kickoff against Dallas in Week 13.
3. Lawrence Jackson, DE, 23: Starting at right defensive end.
4. Josh Wilson, CB, 23: Starting at right cornerback.
5. Owen Schmitt, FB, 23: Started at fullback until Leonard Weaver returned from injury. Key contributor on special teams.
6. David Hawthorne, LB, 23: Played enough on special teams at Dallas to draw a penalty.
7. Brandon Mebane, DT, 23: Starting at defensive tackle. Best player on the defensive line.
8. Coutu, K, 24: General manager Tim Ruskell is carrying Coutu on the roster while coach Mike Holmgren is sticking with veteran Olindo Mare.
9. Wrotto, OL, 24: Next in line for playing time if injuries sideline guards Floyd Womack or Ray Willis.
10. Darryl Tapp, DE, 24: Starting at defensive end.
11. Baraka Atkins, DE, 24: Playing extensively as part of the line rotation. Has shown signs of progress lately.
12. Jordan Kent, WR, 24: Struggled when injuries forced him into the lineup.
13. John Carlson, TE, 24: Starting tight end leads the team in receiving.
14. C.J. Wallace, S, 24: Special-teams contributor not factoring into rotation in secondary.
    
15. Red Bryant, DT, 24: Injuries have prevented him from playing as much as expected.
    
16. Courtney Taylor, WR, 24: Played his way out of a starting role even when Seattle was desperate at the position.
17. Kyle Williams, OL, 24: Signed to help the Seahawks get through practice amid diminished numbers on the line.
18. Steve Vallos, C, 24: Started at center against the Cowboys after 2005 first-round choice Chris Spencer suffered an injury.
19. Will Herring, LB, 25: Battled illness for much of the season before passing a physical and contributing on special teams.
    
20. Kevin Hobbs, CB, 25: Singled out for progress during offseason workouts, but not part of the rotation in the secondary.

We'll take a look at the Rams' 20 youngest players at some point this week. Their youngest player, David Vobora, started at linebacker in Week 13.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

The Cardinals held the NFC's third playoff seed until the Vikings defeated the Bears on Sunday night. Minnesota and Arizona lead their divisions with 7-5 records, but the Vikings hold the tiebreaker based on a better conference record (5-3 vs. 5-4).

The top six seeds in the NFC through Week 12: Giants, Bucs, Vikings, Cardinals, Panthers and Falcons. The Vikings visit the Cardinals in Week 15.

A quick look at how each of the top six teams finishes the season:

• Giants (11-1): Eagles, Cowboys (road), Panthers, Vikings (road)
• Bucs (9-3): Panthers (road), Falcons (road), Chargers, Raiders
• Vikings (7-5): Lions (road), Cardinals (road), Falcons, Giants
• Cardinals (7-5): Rams, Vikings, Patriots (road), Seahawks
• Panthers (9-3): Bucs, Broncos, Giants (road), Saints (road)
• Falcons (8-4): Saints (road), Bucs, Vikings (road), Rams

The Cardinals have a very good chance at winning the third seed if they can win their remaining games at home. That would give them 10 victories, including one over the Vikings.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

The Steelers are slamming their way toward the top of my power-rankings ballot heading into Week 14, but should they jump past the Titans into the No. 2 spot?

How far should the Cardinals fall after getting blown out in Philadelphia? Should the 49ers rise past the Chargers? How far should the Seahawks fall after their fifth consecutive defeat? And what should we do with those unpredictable Broncos?

These are the questions our (blog) nation ponders on this first day of December, 2008. I'll offer up my updated power-rankings flaw finder for download, complete with my (very) tentative rankings, but your help in shaping these is appreciated, as always.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

1. Mike Singletary, head coach, 49ers. Huge road victory keeps the 49ers alive in the playoff race for another week.

2. Steven Jackson, RB, Rams. Fifteen carries for 74 yards in the first half against the Dolphins. Coach Jim Haslett was the only one who could stop him.

3. Shaun Hill, QB, 49ers. Avoided interceptions and made enough plays on third down for the 49ers to prevail in tough conditions.

4. John Carlson, TE, Seahawks. Six receptions for 105 yards against the Cowboys.

5. Justin Smith, DE, 49ers. Blew up the Bills' rushing attempt on a critical fourth-down play inside the 49ers' 10-yard-line. Also had 1.5 sacks.

6. Matt Hasselbeck, QB, Seahawks. Bounced back from two tough games and made plays despite dropped passes and poor pass protection.

7. Orlando Pace, LT, Rams. Helped limit the Dolphins' Joey Porter to one tackle and zero sacks.

8. Andy Lee, P, 49ers. Three punts downed inside the 20 and another downed at the 21 despite tough conditions at Buffalo.

9. Rick Venturi, defensive coordinator, Rams. His embattled defense held the Dolphins to three field goals and one touchdown.

10. Edgerrin James, RB, Cardinals. James looks better by default every time Tim Hightower and the Cardinals' ground game falters.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

1. Anquan Boldin, WR, Cardinals. Two dropped passes and a critical fumble. Was that really Boldin out there Thursday night?

2. Julius Jones, RB, Seahawks. Jones spent six months calling out the Cowboys for letting him leave in free agency. He then lost a fumble after the Seahawks took their opening drive well into Cowboys territory.

3. Marc Bulger, QB, Rams. Three second-half interceptions hurt the Rams badly during a 16-12 defeat to the Dolphins.

4. Tim Hightower, RB, Cardinals. Seven carries for 7 yards against the Eagles.

5. Kurt Warner, QB, Cardinals. His MVP credentials took a hit with a three-interception game against the Eagles.

6. John Marshall, defensive coordinator, Seahawks. His starting safety, Deon Grant, questioned the Seahawks' approach on defense after a 34-9 defeat in Dallas.

7. Frank Gore, RB, 49ers. The 49ers' best offensive player had trouble holding onto the football. At least his fumbling didn't change the outcome.

8. Walter Jones, LT, Seahawks. Allowed two sacks to DeMarcus Ware while playing through what coach Mike Holmgren called leg problems.

9. Donnie Avery, WR, Rams. The rookie receiver finished without a reception for the first time since Week 2.

10. Clancy Pendergast, defensive coordinator, Cardinals. Arizona has allowed 85 points in its last two games and 313 for the season.

Seahawks Personnel Group vs. Cowboys in Week 13 Plays Pct. Runs Yards/ Run Pass Att. Yards/ Att. Sacks 2-RB, 2-WR, 1-TE (base) 22 32.4 8 2.5 14 10.1 0 1-RB, 3-WR, 1-TE 20 29.4 4 3.5 11 6.7 5 4-WR 11 16.2 0 0.0 9 8.1 0 1-RB, 2-WR, 2-TE 8 11.8 5 4.0 2 0.0 1 2-RB, 3-WR 7 10.3 3 3.0 3 1.3 1 2-RB, 1-WR, 2-TE 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 3-TE 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 TOTALS 68 100.0 20 3.2 39 7.5 7

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

The Seahawks in recent seasons trended away from their base offense -- two backs, two receivers and a tight end -- because the team wasn't strong or versatile at tight end. We saw Seattle increasingly use two backs and three wide receivers, sometimes with great success.

The trend has reversed this season. Rookie John Carlson has given coach Mike Holmgren a prototype tight end for his offense, but injuries have wiped out the receiver position. The chart shows the Seahawks' production by personnel group against Dallas in Week 13. The yellow shading highlights the two groups in question.

Check out the yards per pass attempt (10.1) and sack totals (none) from the Seahawks' base offense. Matt Hasselbeck threw to Carlson five times from this personnel grouping. Carlson caught passes for 33, 9, 25, 17 and 16 yards. Hasselbeck completed all five attempts for 99 yards on these passes, good for a 118.8 passer rating. Hasselbeck's numbers on all other passes: 17-of-33 for 188 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, seven sacks, 70.8 rating.

• Full Seahawks personnel report from Week 13: Download here. This file includes the usual play-by-play sheet sortable by quarter, drive number, down, distance, yard line, personnel group, play type, ball carrier, yards gained and more.

Chart note: Sacks count as pass plays but not pass attempts. That explains how there can be four runs and 11 passes from a personnel group featuring 20 total plays.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

The facts: The Rams fell to 2-10 following a 16-12 defeat to the Miami Dolphins in Week 13.

The upside: Even the worst defeats tend to feature a bright spot or two.

• Steven Jackson ran effectively in his first game back from injury. He carried 15 times for 74 yards in the first half.
• Rookie linebacker David Vobora held up "fairly well" under the circumstances while making his first NFL start, coach Jim Haslett said. Vobora's presence in the lineup had raised natural questions, but the Rams held the Dolphins to one touchdown and three field goals.
• Rookie guard John Greco, filling in for Richie Incognito, played extensively in a regular-season game for the first time. The Rams need to develop young offensive linemen.
  
• The Rams, with Brett Romberg starting at center for the second time this season, ran the ball effectively and did not allow a sack. Orlando Pace helped limit the Dolphins' Joey Porter to one tackle and no quarterback hits.
• The Rams also set aside playing time for safety Todd Johnson, who replaced veteran Corey Chavous for stretches. The team needs Johnson or another young safety to emerge for next season.
  
• Rookie receiver Donnie Avery did not catch a pass, but he drew a pass-interference penalty to move the Rams into scoring position on their first drive.
• Kicker Josh Brown made all four field-goal attempts, including a 51-yarder. He has made 5 of 7 tries from 50 yards or longer. Only the Lions' Jason Hanson (7-of-7) has made more field goals from 50 yards or longer.
• The Rams converted 7 of 14 times on third down while winning the time-of-possession battle. St. Louis hadn't converted half its third-down tries in a game all season.
• Ball-hawking safety Oshiomogho Atogwe forced another fumble and nearly picked off another pass.
  

Looking ahead: The Rams face the Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium on Dec. 7.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

John Crumpacker of the San Francisco Chronicle quotes cornerback Nate Clements as saying the 49ers took a step forward by winning at Buffalo. Ray McDonald says the 49ers will continue playing hard for Mike Singletary as the team builds for the future.

Also from Crumpacker: Clements and Takeo Spikes enjoy their Buffalo homecoming. Fans booed Clements, but deep down they love him, the cornerback said. 

More from Crumpacker: Frank Gore promises to rebound from a tough performance.

Gwen Knapp of the San Francisco Chronicle says the 49ers finally played a game in Singletary's image. Spikes says the performance showed the 49ers' true character.

Matt Maiocco of the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat says the 49ers' secondary stepped up against the Bills. Maiocco also provides links to his report card, game story and a story about Clements. The report card gives an "A" to the defensive line.

Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee says Joe Nedney prevailed in the battle of kickers after Rian Lindell missed twice. Also, Bills fans pelted the 49ers' team bus with snowballs before the game.

Also from Barrows: The 49ers beat the odds in overcoming the elements to beat a team with a winning record on the East Coast.

More from Barrows: Linebacker Manny Lawson and the 49ers' defense was dialed in against the Bills one week after floundering in Dallas.

Daniel Brown of the San Jose Mercury News sees Singletary's fingerprints all over the 49ers' victory.

More from Brown: Bay Area product Trent Edwards succumbed to the 49ers' defense and a groin injury.

Mark Purdy of the San Jose Mercury News says the 49ers were literally numb Sunday. Nedney couldn't feel his feet, thanks to the cold weather.

Frank Hughes of the Tacoma News Tribune says the Seahawks' past is standing in the way of its future heading into the final four games.

John Morgan of Field Gulls asks how the Seahawks should use what figures to be a very high draft choice in 2009. Quarterback and offensive tackle are two high-profile possibilities.

Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times cites sources as saying there's no way Jim Mora will be the next head coach at the University of Washington. Mora, of course, is under contract to coach the Seahawks beginning in 2009.

Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Rams will lose 10 or more games in a season for the sixth time in 14 seasons in St. Louis.

Also from Thomas: The Rams' defense showed improvement. Leonard Little says the defense had a different mentality.

Bill Coats of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Rams stopped giving the ball to Steven Jackson because coach Jim Haslett thought the running back was worn out. Jackson: "No, I wasn't gassed. I had 21 carries and felt great. So, it wasn't me and my conditioning. I wish [Haslett] would stop saying that."

Also from Coats: A report card with an "F" grade for Rams quarterback Marc Bulger.

More from Coats: Rookie seventh-round choice David Vobora played "fairly well" under the circumstances, Haslett said.

Steve Korte of the Belleville News-Democrat sizes up Jackson's performance in his first game back from injury. Dolphins coach Tony Sparano says the Rams' running back looked like a defensive lineman running through the secondary.

Also from Korte: The Rams have scored one touchdown in their last four games.

More from Korte: Rams rookie Chris Long managed two quarterback hits and a tackle for loss in his matchup with Dolphins rookie Jake Long.

Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Bulger has lost whatever magic he once had as Rams quarterback. Opponents stomped it out of him a long time ago, Miklasz says. The question is whether Bulger can recover.

Jeff Gordon of stltoday.com says the Rams rediscovered their competitiveness even though they lost again.

Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic says the Cardinals will have to wait until Week 14 for their next chance at winning the NFC West.

RugbyMuffin of Arizona Sports Fans Network noticed something while watching NFL action Sunday. Bad weather and tough defense prevailed over teams fitting the Cardinals' profile. The Steelers' victory at New England was particularly instructive.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

The Seahawks' frustrations on defense boiled over Thursday in Dallas when safety Deon Grant questioned John Marshall's approach as defensive coordinator.

Grant: "I think with our defense this year, we knew what we had coming back and we didn't know how to play to our strengths. And we are still figuring out what is our strength. Some of the players know what the strength is. Some of the coaches know what the strength is. We just haven't put it together."

Grant included himself as one of the players who knew the Seahawks' strengths on defense. He declined to discuss specifics, but linebacker Julian Peterson suggested the Seahawks could do a better job using their speed to pressure quarterbacks.

Grant's line about "some of the coaches" knowing the strengths was a pretty obvious reference to secondary coach and future head coach Jim Mora.

The Seahawks' frustrations on defense are understandable. The team has allowed 311 points in 12 games this season. Here is what you might not know: The Cardinals have allowed 313 points in 12 games. That includes 85 points allowed in the last two games.

We can point to special teams and turnovers and field position as mitigating factors, but every team deals with those issues. In Arizona, the Cardinals' offense has ranked among the league leaders in time of possession, protection the Seattle defense certainly hasn't enjoyed. As we focus on the Cardinals' inability to run the ball, does the defense deserve more scrutiny?

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

The Cardinals' running game has hit on hard times recently. I'm doing some research on the subject and plan to share thoughts this week. In the meantime, I'd like to throw open the subject for discussion.

As tespy321 showed recently, the best ideas are often yours. Here are a few possibilities we might consider in advancing the conversation:

• Move Edgerrin James back into the starting lineup and make him the primary back.
• Work James back into the rotation.
• Forget about the run and just throw, throw, throw.
• Tighten the formations at the expense of three- and four-receiver looks. Get back to basics by running the ball from running formations.
• Move J.J. Arrington into the starting lineup.
  

This should be a fun one.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, please rise and acknowledge Leesters and evenkill72 for comings closest in our latest "You called it" score predictions for NFC West games.

Leesters, who predicted the Bears' 27-3 victory against the Rams in Week 12, forecasted a 24-12 Dolphins victory over the Rams in Week 13. Actual score: 16-12. The eight-point differential for this game came closer than anyone. Noahhasabs was second with a 20-6 prediction, good for a 10-point differential.

Evenkill72, who came closest to predicting the Eagles' 48-20 victory over the Cardinals in Week 12, predicted a 20-17 victory for the 49ers in Week 13. He missed by 24 points -- 10-3 was the final score -- but no one came closer. Quite a few people predicted a Bills victory.

Four people predicted every NFC West outcome correctly in Week 13: evenkill72, digitool, sremuggs1 and poolenium. Of the four, evenkill72 came closest to hitting actual scores on average. Way to go.

The Wall of Fame remains unchanged following Week 13. We take a quick moment to acknowledge our two WOF members:

• Elion245. Forecast the Redskins' 20-17 victory over the Seahawks in Week 12.
• Leesters. Forecast the Bears' 27-3 victory over the Rams in Week 12.

The fine print: Those submitting predictions must pick the winner correctly for their scores to be considered. Scoring is easy to calculate. The difference between a 20-17 prediction and a 31-14 outcome would be 14 points. We would calculate this by adding the difference between 20 and 31 to the difference between 17 and 14.

49ers Personnel Group vs. Bills in Week 13 Plays Pct. Runs Yards/ Run Pass Att. Yards/ Att. Total TDs 1-RB, 2-WR-2TE 21 40.4 16 2.0 5 5.6 1 1-RB, 3-WR, 1-TE 19 36.5 6 2.2 11 9.5 1 4-WR 7 13.5 0 0.0 6 4.8 0 3-TE 2 3.8 1 12.0 0 0.0 0 2-RB, 1-WR, 2-TE 2 3.8 2 2.0 0 0.0 0 2-RB, 3-WR 1 1.9 0 0.0 1 0.0 0 2-RB, 2-WR, 1-TE 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 TOTALS 52 100.0 25 2.4 23 7.0 2

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

The 49ers ran the ball on 14 of their first 23 plays during their 10-3 victory at Buffalo. They called passes on 14 of the next 17 plays spanning halftime before running on nine of their final 12 plays to close out the game.

The production on the ground wasn't what helped the 49ers prevail in this game. The 49ers' running backs averaged only 2.4 yards per carry. But in a close game played in cold and wet conditions, the 49ers' loyalty to the run minimized the chances for the sacks and interceptions that can turn a game in an instant.

Yes, Frank Gore fumbled a couple of times, but Gore lost yardage only twice in 24 carries. The 49ers also ran the ball on nine of 18 second-down plays. These are the situations when certain offensive coordinators -- no one in particular, of course -- can get a little greedy through the air. Not the 49ers at Buffalo. They put more than three wide receivers on the field twice on first or second down and seven times overall.

• Download the full personnel breakdown with sortable play-by-play sheet right here.

The personnel breakdown shown in the chart needs some explanation. Some of the personnel groups were open to interpretation. The 49ers repeatedly used tight end Sean Ryan as a fullback from the I-formation. I counted him as a tight end because he fits that mold at 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds. As a result, the 49ers ran 21 plays with two tight ends. They also used Billy Bajema quite a bit, with Vernon Davis staying on the field.

Shaun Hill did a very nice job with three wide receivers and one tight end, averaging 9.5 yards per pass on 11 attempts. This included third-down pass plays of 16, 18 and 20 yards in the first half, plus a 6-yarder to Jason Hill on third-and-3 in the third quarter and an 11-yarder to Isaac Bruce on third-and-4 late in the game.

Note: Sacks count as pass plays but not pass attempts. That explains how there can be one run and zero passes from a personnel group featuring two total plays.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

The Rams, blown away more often than not lately, hung tough and lost a close one for a change. The close call won't do anything to endear Marc Bulger to the St. Louis fans, however.

Bulger tossed three second-half interceptions while completing only 46 percent of his passes with a 4.3-yard average per attempt. His 22.2 passer rating came despite strong production from Steven Jackson in the running back's first game back from injury. The Rams' defense also showed improvement in holding the Dolphins to one touchdown.

Jackson carried 15 times for 72 yards in the first half. He carried only six times for 22 yards in the second half, when Bulger's interceptions prevented the Rams from sustaining drives.

Life could get tougher for the Rams in the short term as they travel to face the Cardinals in Week 14. Arizona will be playing for the NFC West title after an extended layoff.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

The 49ers showed everything they want to be under Mike Singletary in becoming the first West Coast team to win in the Eastern time zone this season.

Running back Frank Gore ran the ball on the 49ers' first five offensive plays. Quarterback Shaun Hill managed the game and struck downfield selectively. Free-agent addition Justin Smith blew up a fourth-and-2 running play in the fourth quarter when the Bills were threatening to score. And when the Bills needed a comeback late, the 49ers' pass rush took over, with Ray McDonald getting pressure and Smith collecting a key sack.

With the exception of a Gore fumble and an untimely penalty, the 49ers were the smarter team in the second half, letting the Bills make the errors. The Bills were the team suffering from shaky quarterback play, bad decision making and questionable game management.

This marked a reversal for the 49ers and a breakthrough performance for Singletary as he builds a case for keeping the job in 2009.