The 49ers’ narrow path to Levi’s Stadium for Super Bowl LX

SANTA CLARA Welcome to the playoff fringe a place the ers haven t been down the stretch since Deebo Samuel was a wide back Jimmy Garoppolo was the quarterback and it took an overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams in the final regular-season challenge to make the tournament in That s what coach Kyle Shanahan calls it The tournament And this year s tournament concludes with Super Bowl LX at Levi s Stadium on Feb About this time last year the ers had fallen to - with a - home loss to Seattle and never recovered losing seven of their last eight games to finish at - The ers were the top seed in No in without much drama when it came to being tournament-eligible Now the ers are - better than they have any right to be considering they lost defensive stars Nick Bosa and Fred Warner for the season franchise quarterback Brock Purdy for eight games tight end George Kittle for five wide receiver Ricky Pearsall Jr for six and may not get Brandon Aiyuk back at all That doesn t include Mykell Williams the No overall pick in the draft whose rookie season ended in the ninth challenge with a torn ACL They re th in scoring offense points per contest and th in scoring defense pretty much on the playoff bubble and in the middle of the NFL fray any way you count it If the ers get in with the No seed their current position their only chance for a postseason home meeting would be the Super Bowl The ers have just three interceptions and sacks They ve struggled to run the ball although that has gotten better of late with Christian McCaffrey finding particular running room to go along with his double duty as their top receiver They ve only outscored opponents by nine points The NFC West-leading Rams are at plus- -and second-place Seattle at plus- The wild card round shapes up this way heading into Week with the division winners getting the top four seeds NFC No Philadelphia - first-round bye No ers - at No Los Angeles Rams - No Green Bay - - at No Chicago - No Seattle - at No Tampa Bay - at or better No Detroit - No Carolina - AFC Denver - first round bye No Jacksonville - at No New England - No L A Chargers - at No Indianapolis - No Buffalo - at No Pittsburgh - at or better No Houston - No Kansas City - No Baltimore - San Francisco ers quarterback Brock Purdy passes against the Arizona Cardinals during the first half of an NFL football event in Glendale Ariz Sunday Nov AP Photo Ross D Franklin A fortuitous bye The ers cringed when the schedule came out with the latest realizable bye viable in Week at which point they could be as good as - or as bad as - depending on how things go Monday night against Carolina at Levi s Stadium and then on the road against Cleveland - Then comes a week off before a four-game finish at home against Tennessee - at Indianapolis - and then two games at home against Chicago - and decisively Seattle - a bookend to the ers season-opening win against the Seahawks on the road By then the ers will have shed their L-W-L-W-L-W-L-W split personality over the last eight games or fall out of the race They ll need to function as an elite offense and continue their solid play of late on special teams to compensate for defensive issues While the ers aren t getting back Bosa Warner Mykel Williams and a full-strength Aiyuk players who have had extended absences such as Purdy Kittle and maybe Pearsall could be fresh and ready for a stretch run Place kicker Eddy Pi eiro and middle linebacker Tatum Bethune could return after suffering injuries Sunday in Arizona If he s still going strong the ers ought to designate it Christian McCaffrey Appreciation Week for the way he has carried the offense through games It s a week off for the veteran core as well as a rookie class that demands to push through a season that s gone on longer than any they ever had in college Instead of an awful time for a bye it s pretty close to perfect Week playoff implications Thursday Buffalo at Houston The Bills are in good shape as long as Josh Allen is at quarterback but the Texans can t afford to drop under Related Articles ers mailbag How numerous more wins to seal NFC playoff spot ers lose Eddy Pi eiro and Tatum Bethune to injury as Purdy emerges from Arizona healthy Kurtenbach Even after four years and starts the NFL doesn t understand Brock Purdy Inman things that caught my eye in ers - crushing of Cardinals ers account card Purdy s comeback defense s takeaways special teams thrill ride key rout Sunday Pittsburgh at Chicago Leaders of the AFC North and NFC North and there s no evidence either is a sure thing or the postseason Wrist injury to Aaron Rodgers doesn t help Indianapolis at Kansas City The Colts at plus- have the biggest scoring differential in the NFL With the Chiefs at would be amazing if they didn t make the playoffs at all They re overdue for that kind of year Tampa Bay at L A Rams The Bucs have beaten the ers and the Rams have split with them Baker Mayfield could do the ers a solid with a win here Monday Carolina at ers Bryce Young shredded Atlanta for yards in an overtime win and with Jacoby Brissett having just thrown for against the ers expect the Panthers to go uptop early and often Week byes Denver Miami L A Chargers Washington