With a four-game lead in the NFC West after Sunday's 26-20 victory over Seattle -- the club that has won the last four division titles -- the Arizona Cardinals appear a lock to win their first division crown since claiming the NFC East in 1975.

The Cardinals only hurdle left is beating teams in their former division.

Arizona is a perfect 4-0 this year versus its fellow NFC West opponents, including a sweep of its three road games versus San Francisco, St. Louis and Seattle, respectively. In those four contests, the Cards are averaging 28 points per game.

That has put the club in position to clinch the division as early as this weekend, as a victory by Arizona, a loss by the 49ers, and a tie or loss by the Seahawks would give the Cards the crown.

"I feel strongly about us continuing with our preparation and the way we are playing, and hopefully, when we get into the playoffs, that will continue no matter if we clinch early," head coach Ken Whisenhunt told Arizona's official site on Monday. "Hopefully we are fighting for a higher seed, which is what you always want to do, but it is a good problem to have."

That is all fine and good against a division that can be currently considered one of the worst in the NFL. But if the Cardinals are too make some noise in the postseason, they need to win some games outside of it as well.

With six games left to play, Arizona faces a stiff challenge over the next two weeks. It hosts the 9-1 New York Giants this Sunday before traveling to Philadelphia on a short week to battle the 5-4-1 Eagles in a Thanksgiving Day nightcap.

Though they have been competitive, the Cardinals have still stumbled a bit against all things east. They are 1-1 against the NFC East this year, having posted a big home win over Dallas but also losing a seven-point test versus Washington. Arizona is also 0-3 on the East Coast this year, having lost the aforementioned game in Washington in addition to tests in New York (56-35 loss to Jets) and Carolina (27-23).

So the next two weeks will go a long way if Arizona is to prove it is for real. At 7-3, the Cards are two wins shy of their first winning season since going 9-7 in 1998, also the last time they made the playoffs.

However, with quarterback Kurt Warner (395 passing yards versus Seattle, his franchise-record fourth straight 300-yard passing game) having an MVP-caliber season, and wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald (10 catches for 151 yards against Seattle) and Anquan Boldin (13 receptions for 186 yards) having monster campaigns, the NFC East better not take the Cardinals too lightly.

UP NEXT: Arizona hosts the Giants, a team that beat the Cardinals in New York when the teams last faced each other in 2005. Overall, the Giants have beaten the Cards in five of the last seven meetings between the clubs.

49ERS: NOT CONTENT WITH SOLID WIN

When the San Francisco 49ers walked off the field after Sunday's 35-16 victory over the St. Louis Rams, you would have thought they were walking towards what was sure to be a happy locker room.

After all, the 49ers' first half featured 35 points -- the most the club had put up through two quarters since a franchise-record 42 versus Atlanta in 1992 -- and quarterback Shaun Hill's quarterback rating heading into the break was a perfect 158.3 after two touchdown passes and a 12-for-14 throwing effort.

Add in 67 rushing yards and a pair of scores by Frank Gore in the first half, and you are looking at a complete effort, right?

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