The 49ers’ Week 4 loss to the Eagles was rough for a variety of reasons. The largest though is the large roadblock it placed on their road back to the playoffs.
San Francisco’s four games following their season-opening loss to the Cardinals were all extremely winnable. The Jets were 0-1 when the 49ers faced them. The Giants were 0-2, and the Eagles were 0-2-1. Miami is 1-3. That’s as soft as a schedule gets for a reigning division winner, and coming out of that stretch 4-1 would’ve put the 49ers in a great spot to make a postseason run.
Losing to Philadelphia means the best attainable record through five weeks is 3-2. That’s not bad in a vacuum, but the 49ers could wind up really missing that additional W they dropped against the now 1-2-1 Eagles. Here’s what the 49ers’ schedule looks like after Week 5:
Week 6, vs. Los Angeles Rams
Week 7, at New England
Week 8, at Seattle
Week 9, vs. Green Bay (Thursday Night Football)
Week 10, at New Orleans
Week 11, Bye
Week 12, at Los Angeles Rams
Week 13, vs. Buffalo (Monday Night Football)
Those teams have a combined record of 19-5. ESPN’s Mike Clay projects the 49ers’ remaining schedule as the NFL’s most difficult. They round out the season against Washington, Dallas, Arizona and Seattle.
A new playoff format that allows seven teams in from each conference should help San Francisco. It still won’t be easy though with the seven-game gauntlet they face after Miami.
Last year the Rams were the No. 7 seed with a 9-7 record. Assuming San Francisco knocks off the Dolphins they’ll be 3-2 going into that rough seven-game stretch. If they just split their final four, they’ll need to find four wins in their seven games between Weeks 6 and 13.
It won’t be impossible, especially if they start getting healthy and hit a stride in October, but the hill only gets steeper the more games they drop early in the year. Even though it’s a 1-3 Dolphins club, Sunday’s showdown at Levi’s Stadium will be a huge game in the 49ers’ quest for a playoff spot.
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