Seahawks remain atop NFC West, but has a new challenger emerged?

It's been an interesting five years in the NFC West. The rise of the Arizona Cardinals coincided with the demise of the San Francisco 49ers. The Los Angeles Rams remained the same, average to bad and the Seattle Seahawks have been steady at the top.

Now, in 2017, is there another shift occurring?

The Seahawks remain at the top, but now there may be another challenger appearing as the Rams look like the best option to challenge the Seahawks.

The Arizona Cardinals have fallen to the middle tier, where the Rams called home for so long, and the 49ers are in the midst of their third rebuild post Jim Harbaugh.

The staying power of the Seahawks has been as impressive as the fact that if the trend for 2017 holds up, every team in the division over the last six years will have been a challenger to the Seahawks reign.

Can the Cardinals maintain pace within the division?

How long will the 49ers remain at the bottom?

No matter how you slice it, the NFC West has taken a step back this season, but the name at the top remains constant.