The San Francisco 49ers are sitting at 7-4 after beating the Arizona Cardinals 41-22 over the weekend, bumping them back into the playoff picture as the No. 7 seed in the NFL.
After a 3-0 start, the 49ers have alternated games the last eight weeks, going 4-4 during that period while failing to rack up consecutive victories. But, they have a prime stretch ahead of them to put some distance in the playoff race and increase their chances of making the postseason.
Following the win over the Cardinals, San Francisco now returns home to face the Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football, where they’re currently seen as touchdown favorites. Then comes a matchup against the Cleveland Browns on the road before a late Week 14 bye week. Following the break, they take on the Tennessee Titans at home.
Those are three very winnable games on the schedule in the next four weeks. The 49ers do have a tough end to the year, facing the Indianapolis Colts on the road before hosting the Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks in back-to-back weeks. All three of those teams are currently in the playoff hunt.
So, as I said last week, it’s imperative that the 49ers finish out this four-game stretch of winnable games strong, with this weekend’s matchup potentially being the most difficult of the three remaining games.
Let’s say San Francisco does win the next three games and improves to 10-4. That would definitely put them in the driver’s seat to make the playoffs, and potentially still challenge for an NFC West berth.
The Rams are leading the division at 8-2. They still face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions in the next four weeks (both at home) before traveling to Seattle for a rematch in Week 16. They’re still the clear favorites to win the division, as they still face the Panthers, Arizona Cardinals (2x), and Atlanta Falcons. But, there is a likely chance the division remains at least competitive down the stretch.
Even if the 49ers don’t win the division, putting them at 10-4 going into the final three weeks would at least improve their stance among the wild-card teams. They’re currently a half-game back behind the Seahawks, while the Packers sit at 6-3-1.
The NFC North has a lot of dominoes to fall, as the Packers, Lions, and Chicago Bears are all fighting for playoff spots and will face each other down the stretch a number of times. Those three seem to be battling with the 49ers for three playoff spots.
Seattle, on the other hand, faces the Titans, Vikings, and Falcons in three straight weeks. They could very well be 10-4 before facing their toughest stretch with the Colts, Rams, Panthers, and 49ers to end the year, making that Week 18 game a potential seeding matchup in the playoffs.
San Francisco controls its destiny if it wins the next three games. 10 wins should be good enough for the playoffs, even in a competitive NFC. If they don’t, the path certainly gets tougher with the three big matchups at the end of the year. But, all the possibilities are still on the table heading into Week 12.
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