Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

If the Cardinals win the NFC West, the Seahawks and 49ers might each consider two of their first eight games pivotal.

For the Seahawks: The broken ribs Matt Hasselbeck suffered while leading an impressive second-quarter drive at San Francisco prevented him from finishing that game or starting the next one. Seattle lost to the 49ers and then at home to the Bears a week later. I think it's fair to suggest Seattle might have won both games -- and the Chicago game in particular -- with a healthy Hasselbeck. All else being equal, the Seahawks would be 4-4 or 5-3 heading to Arizona in Week 9.

For the 49ers: Few teams are good enough this season to hold fourth-quarter road leads against the Vikings and Colts. The 49ers managed to do so -- and with a different quarterback for each game. The Vikings needed a desperation pass play in the final seconds to prevail. The Colts needed a halfback pass, also in the fourth quarter. Reverse those outcomes and, all else equal, the 49ers would be taking a 5-3 record into Week 9.

I'm not saying either one of these teams deserves to be 5-3. I do think the rib injury to Hasselbeck was somewhat fluky. The plays that beat the 49ers in Minnesota and Indianapolis certainly qualified as such. The line between 3-5 and 5-3 can be a fine one, even for teams with obvious flaws.