The San Francisco 49ers head into Week 7 in a position with which they are familiar, top of the NFC West, their return to the spot in which they finished each of the previous two regular season especially pleasing after an underwhelming start to 2024.

San Francisco got back on track last Thursday, seeing off a third-quarter rally from the Seattle Seahawks to claim a huge primetime win on the road. 

It was a morale-boosting show of strength and resilience from a 49ers team that sits at 3-3, having let two double-digit leads to teams with losing records, the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals, slip through their fingers.

The problem, however, is that the 49ers' next stretch features just two opponents who right now do not have winning records.

Four of the 49ers' next seven games are with teams who currently have at least four wins. That number will swell to five on Monday if the 3-2 Buffalo Bills see off the New York Jets in primetime.

It is a true gauntlet that will test the 49ers' mettle as a team looking to go all the way to the Super Bowl once again.

And standing in their way at the start of that run is the team that edged them in agonizing overtime defeat in Super Bowl 58 in February, as the Kansas City Chiefs make the trip to the Bay Area.

The 49ers have not beaten the Chiefs since 2014, their first season at Levi's Stadium. Jim Harbaugh was the head coach and Colin Kaepernick was the quarterback for the 49ers while Alex Smith helmed the Kansas City offense. Dee Ford, who would later play for the Niners against the Chiefs in Super Bowl 54, was in his rookie year with Kansas City.

Since that 22-17 win, the 49ers have lost four straight to the Chiefs, including the Super Bowl losses that both saw Kansas City recover from 10-point deficits.

Having played in both of those Super Bowls and a 2022 defeat to the Chiefs at Levi's Stadium, it's no surprise that defensive end Nick Bosa is desperate to bring an end to that streak.

Said Bosa after the win over Seattle: "Obviously this was a big one to get and now we have a little time to get some guys healthy. I mean, we have a long road ahead and it starts with the team that we haven't beat yet since I've been here, so definitely trying to get the monkey off our back with that one."

But Bosa's fellow All-Pro Trent Williams is not attaching such significance to the game. In fact, the game's premier left tackle is viewing it through a very different lens. 

"It's another game," Williams said. "I mean, it's not like we can get payback for losing in a Super Bowl. That ship has sailed. 

"So it's another game. We've got to come out and try to play complimentary football. Obviously, we know what type of team that is — one of the best teams in the league, all-star quarterback, you know, great coach. So it's going to be a tough game regardless. We're going to take these three days off and regroup and come try to put a complete game together."

The victory in Seattle was the 49ers' most complete performance since the Week 1 win over the New York Jets and saw the Niners remind themselves that they do, in fact, know how to finish games.

Finishing the job was the problem in each of the 49ers' Super Bowl losses to Kansas City. Bosa and Williams may have contrasting views of the significance of the Chiefs game, but they both know that if the Niners can find a way to finish against the team that has proven their boogeyman during an otherwise hugely successful era, then they will be set up superbly to tackle the rest of an intimidating stretch. 

49ers continue 2024 streak as oddsmakers give their view on Week 7 Super Bowl rematch with Chiefs

A win would banish some demons.