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The 49ers don’t have many paths to the postseason, and the ones they do have are steep and narrow. After Week 11 action, which wrapped with a 27-24 Rams victory over the Buccaneers, San Francisco sits as the No. 11 seed in the NFC playoff hunt, behind the Vikings, Lions and Bears who’re all on the outside looking in.
Here’s what the playoff picture looks like after 11 weeks:
1. Saints (8-2)
2. Rams (7-3)
3. Packers (7-3)
4. Eagles (3-6-1)
5. Seahawks (7-3)
6. Buccaneers (7-4)
7. Cardinals (6-4)
8. Bears (5-5)
9. Vikings (4-6)
10. Lions (4-6)
11. 49ers (4-6)
12. Panthers (4-7)
It looks like the 49ers will have to go 5-1, minimum, over their final six games to just be in the hunt. 6-0 may be a requirement given how many teams they have in front of them.
While the NFC West is brutal, they’ll probably need to sweep their three remaining division contests to have a shot. That’ll start in Week 12 when they visit the Rams.
The good news for San Francisco is the Lions just got shutout by the Panthers, the Vikings lost to the Cowboys, and the Bears have been going the wrong direction for weeks. If the 49ers put together a run, they’d likely be the only team of those four bunched at 4-6 and 5-5 to do so.
After that it comes down to whether they can get Tampa Bay, Arizona, Seattle or the Rams to go on a multi-game losing skid.
The paths exist, but the only way the 49ers keep them open is if they start with a win over the Rams in Week 12.