They've managed to time it with us, Spurs, Chelsea and Man U all being shit at the same time. At best, they'd be 7th if not for that.
No Europe a big advantage as 'the big 6' have basically been playing CL/EL every midweek since September, while they've had 6 free midweeks. It's not as brutal in a typical season. This is part of West Ham's drop off from the best of the rest position Newcastle have now took.
No doubt they're overperforming though given it's a pretty average side on paper, particularly given Saint Maxim and Isak have been missing since they started this run.