The 49ers only had a decent Sunday had they taken care of business Monday in Minnesota. Instead they fell 22-17 to the Vikings and gave themselves an uphill climb back to the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
Here’s what the updated standings look like now that the dust has settled on Week 7:
1. Eagles (6-1)
2. Lions (5-2)
3. 49ers (5-2)
4. Falcons (4-3)
5. Seahawks (4-2)
6. Cowboys (4-2)
7. Buccaneers (3-3)
San Francisco was always going to drop in the standings after Philadelphia beat the previously 5-1 Dolphins. The tiebreaker at the top would’ve come down to strength of victory and Philly’s is now very good thanks to a huge win over a good team.
Losing to Minnesota put the 49ers in a tie with the Lions for the No. 2 seed, but Detroit holds that tiebreaker over San Francisco. Since those clubs don’t have a head-to-head matchup or common opponents and their conference records are the same, the tiebreaker goes to strength of victory.
The teams Detroit beat have a combined win percentage of .469, while San Francisco’s wins have been against teams with a combined .424 win percentage.
There’s a lot of football to go, but the climb just became much steeper for the 49ers if they’re still going to get the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
