The San Francisco 49ers have achieved everything they wanted in the 2023 regular season.

San Francisco has the number one seed in the NFC, a first-round bye and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs following a 27-10 win over the Washington Commanders, the 49ers' place atop the conference confirmed by the Philadelphia Eagles' stunning loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Immediately after the game, the conversation turned to resting starters, with head coach Kyle Shanahan conceding the Niners will sit some players in their regular-season finale with he Los Angeles Rams, given San Francisco has nothing tangible to play for.

The Rams will be playing to make absolutely sure of the sixth seed in the NFC playoffs, though it remains to be seen how much head coach Sean McVay will care about that position.

So how can Shanahan motivate the players he does not sit to get up for a game that will have no impact on their Super Bowl hopes, beyond the desire to maintain the standard the Niners have set this season?

Stretching the regular-season win streak over the Rams to 10 games is decent potential motivation, but the 49ers also have a shot at franchise history.

The Niners are 5-0 inside the NFC West having swept the division in the 2022 season. Should they beat the Rams, it would see them sweep the division in back to back years for the first time.

San Francisco has been the best team in the NFC West by some distance over the course of 2022 and 2023. The 49ers don't need such an achievement to illustrate that point, but it's a fun potential carrot to dangle in front of those backups who get the chance to impress as the Niners aim to round off an excellent regular season in style.

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