The 49ers thorough beatdown of the Cowboys made it clear San Francisco is, at least through five weeks, the best team in NFL. While thumping Dallas 42-10 didn’t have an impact on San Francisco’s tie with the Eagles atop the NFC standings, the 49ers did get on the right side of that tiebreaker in Week 5.
With all the NFC games wrapped up for the week, the 49ers are sitting atop the conference standings after ceding the tiebreaker to Philadelphia in Week 4. The Eagles took care of business with a home win over the Rams to keep pace with San Francisco, but the 49ers got a leg up in the strength of victory tiebreak the clubs are on.
Here’s what the standings look like in the NFC playoff picture after Sunday:
1. 49ers (5-0)
2. Eagles (5-0)
3. Lions (4-1)
4. Buccaneers (3-1)
5. Seahawks (3-1)
6. Falcons (3-2)
7. Cowboys (3-2)
San Francisco now sits above Philadelphia thanks to their superior strength of victory. The teams the 49ers beat have a combined winning percentage of .400, while the Eagles’ victories have come against teams with a combined .375 winning percentage.
The Eagles opponents who played in Week 5, the Patriots, Vikings, Commanders and Rams, all lost. Their other opponent, the Buccaneers, was on a bye.
Meanwhile, four of the 49ers’ opponents who played in Week 5 lost, but the Steelers pulled out a last-minute win at home vs. the Ravens to push the 49ers up over the Eagles.
This race figures to come down to the wire, and there’s no better illustration of that than the very thin margin that gives the 49ers an edge in the standings.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]