Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus made his predictions for the 2020 NFL season. Among those predictions are the division winners across the league. Who does the analyst envision emerging as division champions from the NFC West?
Not the San Francisco 49ers.
Monson has the Seattle Seahawks reclaiming the throne in his take on how the upcoming season will pan out.
"When in doubt, err on the side of the best quarterback," wrote Monson, "and right now Russell Wilson is the best quarterback in the NFL not named Patrick Mahomes. The 49ers will need to battle against the inevitable Super Bowl hangover, and though Seattle has some issues, they have added some immediate impact pieces at key spots (Jamal Adams, Quinton Dunbar)."
Monson does have San Francisco earning a playoff spot as a Wildcard. However, he has them falling short in their "Revenge Tour" as the analyst envisions the Baltimore Ravens winning Super Bowl LV.
"I'm predicting the 49ers to get beaten out by the Seahawks for the division," Monson adds, "but they're still going to be good. Kyle Shanahan is too good of a coach for this team to disappear over one disappointment."
Monson notes that many of his picks are simply "playing the odds," and acknowledges that things in the NFL don't always pan out as predicted.
"There are surprises and shocks every year that would have been impossible to predict without the use of a crystal ball, so I have taken my best guess in certain spots at forecasting some of those surprises," wrote Monson.
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