49ers Week 11 rooting guide: San Francisco can vault into playoffs with a win and some unexpected help

Having put themselves in a tricky position with some shock defeats earlier in the season, the San Francisco 49ers don't have much room for error in the race for the playoffs. It is all about taking care of their own business down the stretch, and the 49ers must do that on Sunday when they face […]

Nicholas McGee
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San Francisco 49ers place kicker Jake Moody (4) celebrates after he makes the game winning field goal against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half at Raymond James Stadium.
Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Having put themselves in a tricky position with some shock defeats earlier in the season, the San Francisco 49ers don't have much room for error in the race for the playoffs.

It is all about taking care of their own business down the stretch, and the 49ers must do that on Sunday when they face the Seattle Seahawks.

A seventh straight win over the Seahawks, including postseason, would see the 49ers move to 6-4, level with the Arizona Cardinals atop the NFC West, though the Cardinals do have the tiebreaker following their surprise Week 5 win at Levi's Stadium.

While the Niners will be focused on their own task in hand, there is reason to have interest in some of the other games taking place in the NFC.

Packers (6-3) at Bears (4-5)

Nobody is expecting a Chicago Bears offense in disarray to suddenly fire on all cylinders against the Green Bay Packers.

But if the Bears can somehow prevail at Soldier Field, it would drop the Packers to 6-4.

That shock result, followed by a 49er win over Seattle, would see San Francisco move ahead of the Packers and into the Wild Card spots on account of a superior conference record.

As such, 49ers fans should be rooting for an upset in the early window. 

Vikings (7-2) @ Titans (2-7)

Another upset the 49ers should be rooting for is the Tennessee Titans to knock off an increasingly unconvincing Minnesota Vikings team.

Sam Darnold has looked increasingly shaky in recent times, and the Titans have the talent on defense to take advantage. Tennessee ranks 11th in DVOA on defense, per FTN Fantasy.

A Tennessee victory and a San Francisco win would pull the 49ers within a game of the Vikings in the Wild Card picture, giving them another target to chase in the stretch run.

Rams (4-5) @ Patriots (3-7)

The Los Angeles Rams are approaching desperation mode after a Monday Night Football loss to the Miami Dolphins dropped them to 4-5. 

Still, they are only a game behind the 49ers, meaning they cannot be discounted as a threat in both the Wild Card race and the fight for the NFC West. Los Angeles also has a tiebreaker over the 49ers after a comeback win in Week 3. 

But the Rams have a big challenge going across the country on a short week to face a Patriots team that has won two of its last three.

If the Patriots can maintain their recent momentum, that would give the 49ers the opportunity to build a two-game lead over the Los Angeles, allowing them to focus on the teams they are chasing rather than looking over their shoulder.

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