The San Francisco 49ers are in control of their destiny with four weeks left in the season, standing at 9-4 with the No. 6 seed in the NFC after their bye week.
It was another chaotic week in the NFL that
saw some shakeups in the NFC Playoff Picture as the Chicago Bears fell all the way from No. 1 to No. 7 after their loss to the Green Bay Packers. Meanwhile, the NFC South continues to get muddier after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost another game, putting them tied with the Carolina Panthers for first place in the division.
Then, there’s the NFC West, which seems to only get stronger by the week. The Los Angeles Rams are the No. 1 seed in the conference after improving to 10-3. The Seattle Seahawks are right on their tail at 10-3 (although the Rams hold the head-to-head tiebreaker). And the 49ers are one game back at 9-4.
At the moment, all three teams are heavily favored to make the playoffs. But, do they have enough to make a playoff push when the postseason arrives? The Rams and Seahawks are playing like two of the top five teams in the NFL right now. Los Angeles has an MVP candidate at quarterback, fueling one of the best offenses in the league, while their defense remains a top-three unit in points allowed. Seattle, on the other hand, has one of the best defenses in the league, while their offense has been explosive with Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who leads the NFL in receiving.
How about the 49ers, though? They’re right there at 9-4, despite dealing with season-ending injuries to Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, while seeing several other starters miss multiple games. Their defense has been an anomaly this year, not really being elite at anything, but still managing to be a top-10 scoring defense.
Their offense, on the other hand, has been efficient with either Mac Jones or Brock Purdy at quarterback. That will have to continue if the 49ers are to continue a playoff run.
But, there’s one key stat that often goes overlooked that could play a big factor in a playoff run: penalties.
Amidst all the movement and issues this season, San Francisco ranks second in the NFL in penalties (5.2 per game) and penalty yards (38.4 yards per game), ranking only behind the Rams in both categories.
They’re one of the most disciplined teams in the league, which has allowed them to play at an efficient rate offensively and be just good enough defensively to limit points. That will be crucial come playoff time, especially if the 49ers end up as a wild-card team and likely play on the road throughout the postseason.
They’ve been especially good over their last three contests, which were all must-win games, averaging only two penalties and 10.7 penalty yards a game in the wins over Arizona, Carolina, and Cleveland. Now, they need to remain on the same trajectory to end the season, with three playoff contenders still on the schedule.
