Well, that’s bittersweet
Sorry, San Francisco 49ers fans, I have some good and bad news.
First, the good news: the 49ers won a game. It’s been a while, but Victory Monday is here.
Ok, now the bad news, which is much more extensive: it was a win over the Chicago Bears. While the win was necessary, the rest of the NFC West couldn’t help the 49ers out. The Los Angeles Rams beat the Buffalo Bills (which makes the 49ers’ loss against the Bills last week sting even more), and the Seahawks beat the Cardinals, getting another divisional victory.
Oh, brother.
The way things shake out now with the Rams’ victory is the 49ers go to fourth place. A lot, and I mean A LOT, is riding on this Thursday Night game against the Rams. And even if they win, the 49ers are in a heap of trouble, no matter how you look at it.
But the 49ers did beat the Bears. They have achieved the quest for six…wins. So there’s something. They have the same amount of wins as their 2020 disappointment (the COVID year). So, one more win at least makes this a smidgen better than that nightmare.
Seattle Seahawks (8-5)/Arizona Cardinals (6-7)
When you blinked at the start of this game, you’d see the Cardinals up by 7. Blink again, and the Seahawks were mounting their lead. The Cardinals would not get a touchdown again until just over a minute left in the third quarter.
It looked like the Cardinals might get back into it. With that touchdown, they had a successful two-point conversion to make the game 27-18.
But through the whole game, the Seahawks were manhandling the Cardinals. Too little, too late. Final score: 30-18. Thanks for coming, Arizona.
Kyler Murray had one good series, the opening possession that led to a touchdown. After that, nothing could work for him. He went 25-38, 259 yards passing, two touchdowns, two interceptions.
Meanwhile, Geno Smith went 24-30 (80 percent completion), 233 yards passing, and one touchdown. Considering this same defense gave the 49ers fits back at the beginning of the year, and it’s a division rival, you have to tip it to Smith.
The Seahawks’ win puts them two games up in the division. The problem where the 49ers are concerned is that they [the Seahawks] will need to lose not just two but three games due to divisional tiebreakers. They have the Green Bay Packers next week, then the Minnesota Vikings, and they could lose both of those. Then they have the Chicago Bears (keep dreaming).
The Seahawks finish the season with the Los Angeles Rams. So unless the Bears can do something in their game against Seattle, the Rams would need to be the third loss.
This is all assuming the 49ers can win out. And assuming the Rams can lose a game or two as well. If the above scenario plays out, the Rams also need to take some losses.
Los Angeles Rams (7-6)
Many of us didn’t see San Francisco winning that game against Buffalo last week. Even with that skepticism, I doubt anyone saw it going down like that.
So, of course, the next week, the Los Angeles Rams beat them. Because, 49ers.
It was a pretty competitive game. Well, as far as the first halves of football are concerned. The game was tied briefly; the Rams kicked a field goal to go up by three in the second quarter, and it seemed like it would be a very close, even game.
Then the Rams blocked a Bills punt and took it in for the score. The Bills played the rest of the game from behind and couldn’t get the lead back. Sure, they scored, but the Rams were on fire in the second half.
So the Rams now hop to second place in the division. As we said with the Seahawks, if you want the 49ers to win this thing, you are hoping for some voodoo wins/losses from the Rams and Seahawks. A lot of things are out of their hands. While the 49ers are not eliminated from the postseason, this was the worst stream of events you could ask for today.
Onto Week 15
The 49ers and the Rams meet for their second game of the season. If you remember, the 49ers’ issues for 2024 were on full display in Week 3 when they coughed up a lead and let the spiraling Rams back into the thick of things. This game is a Thursday Night Game, the second the 49ers have this season, because, NFL, I guess.
The Seahawks will host the Green Bay Packers. The Packers thumped the 49ers good a couple of weeks ago, and lost a close one to the Detroit Lions last week. Hopefully, Jordan Love and the company will do the 49ers a favor.
The Cardinals will host the New England Patriots. That’s a game few may want to watch. The Patriots only have three wins this season. The Cardinals are better than their record indicates, so I wouldn’t hold your breath that the Patriots can get a win here.
1st: Seattle Seahawks; Next: vs. Green Bay Packers
2nd: Los Angeles Rams; Next: at San Francisco 49ers
3rd: Arizona Cardinals; Next: vs. New England Patriots
4th: San Francisco 49ers; Next: vs. Los Angeles Rams