The San Francisco 49ers returned from their late bye with a 9-4 record and a rare opportunity to reset after playing 13 straight weeks. Instead of disrupting momentum, the week off helped them climb from the No. 7 seed to No. 6 in the NFC.
The timing also aligned with roster needs. Kicker Eddy Pineiro is set to return, while injuries continue to affect Tatum Bethune, Sam Okuayinonu, and Nick Martin. Kyle Juszczyk managed limited work, and Yetur Gross Matos had his practice window opened. Christian McCaffrey appreciated the pause, calling it “a blessing in disguise.”
Kyle Shanahan described the break as an unusual December pause but noted that “it was fun to kind of just watch football Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, just from a fan perspective.”
San Francisco now faces a four-game stretch that includes a home game against Tennessee, a road trip to Indianapolis, and two late-season matchups against Chicago and Seattle. Their remaining schedule places three of the last four contests at Levi’s Stadium, a valuable boost for a team trying to regain its rhythm.
San Francisco positions itself for a critical closing stretch
The path ahead is mathematically demanding but clear. If the 49ers win their final four games, earn a Rams loss to either Seattle or Arizona, and see Green Bay drop one contest, they hold the tiebreaker with a 5-1 divisional mark.
That scenario would give them the NFC West title and keep the No. 1 seed within reach. ESPN’s Football Power Index assigns a playoff probability of 93.4 percent, which rises to 96.1 percent with a win against Tennessee.
Inside the division, the margins are tight. FPI gives the Los Angeles Rams a 57.5 percent chance to win the NFC West, followed by the Seattle Seahawks at 26.4 percent and San Francisco at 16.1 percent.
Brock Purdy emphasized the urgency of each outing, saying “every game matters,” a mindset echoed throughout the locker room. Jauan Jennings noted that the team understands “it’s all right there in front of us to do it.”
The bye week also changed how players prepared. Some focused on recovery, others used the downtime for film, including rookie Upton Stout, who studied four games for each of San Francisco’s upcoming opponents.
As Kyle Shanahan regrouped the roster, he told them it felt like the “first day of school again,” a reminder that the final stretch would determine whether this refreshed roster could convert rest into momentum, control its schedule, and force a late-season shake-up in the tightly packed NFC West.