NFL Week 9 recap: Seahawks progressed, Cards regressed, Niners/Rams rested

Week 9 of the NFL season was a relatively quiet one for the NFC West. The division-leading San Francisco 49ers and the division-tailing St. Louis Rams took the week off with a bye.

In the meantime, the Niners lost a little ground, as the Seattle Seahawks pulled off a home win against the Minnesota Vikings and pushed themselves back above .500. Rookie quarterback Russell Wilson had probably his best game as a pro, passing for three touchdowns with no turnovers and completing 16 of his 24 passes. On the other side of the scale, Vikings QB Christian Ponder completely soiled the bed, completing only 50 percent of his passes, throwing an interception, and taking four sacks. The 'Hawks managed to survive an onslaught from fully recuperated Adrian Peterson, who tallied 182 yards on the ground and punched in two touchdowns.

In local news, the Arizona Cardinals lost to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, as expected. The loss brought the streak to five games and the Cards sunk below .500 for the first time this season. The game was going to plan until the second half, when QB John Skelton put together a couple nice drives and Arizona cut the Pack's lead to 24-17, after being down 24-7. But that was as close as the Cards would get. Aaron Rodgers threw a 72-yard touchdown pass to Tom Crabtree to put things out of reach. It was the second game that Arizona's vaunted defense gave up at least three touchdown passes to an opposing quarterback.

Let's take a look at what the other SB Nation blogs had to say:

Seahawks vs. Vikings: Strong second half lifts Seattle to 30-20 victory - SB Nation Seattle
After going back and forth throughout the first half, the Seattle Seahawks stepped up in the second half against the Vikings and pulled out the 30-20 win on Sunday.

Cardinals Drop Their Fifth Straight Game - Revenge of the Birds
Cardinals couldn't do enough to win, and dropped their 5th Straight Game.