Even without taking the field this weekend, the San Francisco 49ers are poised to climb the NFC playoff ladder - and potentially in a big way.
Thanks to their Week 14 bye, Brock Purdy and the Niners will be spectators on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be moving up in the postseason picture. In fact, by the time the dust settles, San Francisco will have improved its playoff positioning - the only question is by how much.
Let’s start with what’s guaranteed. No matter what happens in Sunday’s matchup between the Chicago Bears (9-3) and the Green Bay Packers (8-3), the 49ers (9-4) are locked in to move up from the No. 7 seed to at least No.
- It’s simple math.
If the Packers beat the Bears at Lambeau Field, San Francisco leapfrogs Chicago. If the Bears win, the Niners jump Green Bay.
Even if the game ends in a rare tie, San Francisco holds the tiebreaker over the Packers thanks to a better NFC record.
But that’s just the beginning. Depending on how a few other games shake out, the 49ers could find themselves in an even better spot by the end of the weekend.
Keep an eye on the NFC West. If either the Seattle Seahawks (9-3) fall to the Atlanta Falcons (4-8) or the Los Angeles Rams (9-3) stumble against the Arizona Cardinals (3-9), the 49ers would slide up to the No. 5 seed. And here’s where things get really interesting: if both Seattle and L.A. lose, San Francisco would vault all the way to the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
Now, let’s be real - the odds of both division rivals losing to sub-.500 teams aren’t high. But this is the NFL, where chaos is never more than a Sunday away. And for a 49ers squad that’s battled through a wave of injuries this season, the fact that they’re in position to benefit from a weekend off speaks volumes about their resilience.
There’s still a long way to go in the playoff race, but San Francisco is quietly building momentum at the right time. And this weekend, they might just get a boost - without even lacing up their cleats.