The 49ers string of poor play between Weeks 6 and 8 that resulted in three consecutive losses has forced them to rely on other teams to help them get back in the race for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Bills are the latest team in a long string of clubs to fall short against the No. 1 seed Philadelphia Eagles, leaving San Francisco two games back heading into the NFC championship game rematch Sunday in Philadelphia.
Detroit will have some say in the matter too since they’re tied with the 49ers, but the 49ers have put themselves in a spot where even a win over Philly on Sunday won’t give them the top seed.
Here’s what the playoff picture looks like with Monday night still to go:
1. Eagles (10-1)
2. 49ers (8-3)
3. Lions (8-3)
4. Falcons (5-6)
5. Cowboys (8-3)
6. Vikings (6-5)
7. Seahawks (6-5)
Minnesota will play Monday with a chance to either hold onto the No. 6 with a win or fall to No. 7 with a loss at home to Chicago.
The 49ers hold the tiebreaker over the Lions thanks to a better intra-conference record. Two of San Francisco’s three losses have come against AFC teams while Detroit has fallen to two NFC clubs.
San Francisco isn’t entirely out of the race just yet. Beating the Eagles puts them one game back, but it would also give them the head-to-head tiebreaker so they would only need one more Eagles loss (and a Lions loss) to get in via winning out.
There’s a ton of football to go though so sussing out all the tiebreak scenarios isn’t a super valuable at this point. There’s some increased urgency for the 49ers now though since going three games back and losing the head-to-head tiebreaker would ostensibly end their quest for the No. 1 seed.
