The San Francisco 49ers are certainly feeling good. In the morning, the Seattle Seahawks dropped a 6-3 affair to the Cleveland Browns, and the first bit of afternoon NFC West action has also tilted in their favor. The Arizona Cardinals, despite one or two big plays, looked helpless in a 32-20 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at home. Unlike the aforementioned Seattle game, this one was actually fun to watch, though not necessarily because of the Cardinals.
Ben Roethlisberger torched Patrick Peterson and the Cardinals defense, going 25-for-38 for 340 yards, three touchdowns and no picks. The Steelers had just under 100 yards combined rushing, but Rashard Mendenhall was held to just 32 yards on 13 carries. It wasn't all bad for the Cardinals, who were able to execute a bit offensively: Kevin Kolb threw for decent yardage once again, getting 272 yards and had a couple of touchdown passes and an interception. The huge touchdown pass to LaRod Stephens-Howling was of particular significance.
Still, the Cardinals lost and fall even further into the hole in the NFC West, maintaining third place with a shiny new 1-5 record. The 49ers sit atop the division at 5-1. Arizona will hit the road for the next game to take on the Baltimore Ravens.