It’s Week 17 of the NFL season and teams are punching tickets to the playoffs. The San Francisco 49ers are hoping they earn their place this Sunday.
Unfortunately, the Niners aren’t in control of their destiny which makes the Week 16 loss to the Tennessee Titans hurts a bit more. After being up 10 points early on, San Francisco blew a lead and ended up dropping to 8-7 instead of all but clinching a spot with a win.
Fortunately, Week 17 brings the arrival of the Houston Texans to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, and the AFC South team is currently 4-11 and eliminated from playoff contention.
San Francisco and whichever quarterback starts on Sunday, Trey Lance or Jimmy Garoppolo, cannot treat the Texans as a cakewalk. Houston has put together back-to-back wins in recent weeks, including an impressive 41-29 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
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What the 49ers Need to Do on Sunday
First, let’s break down the NFC standings, per NFL.com. If the season ended today, here’s who would be making the playoffs.
- z-Green Bay Packers (12-3)
- z-Dallas Cowboys (11-4)
- x-Los Angeles Rams(11-4)
- z-Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-4)
- z-Arizona Cardinals (10-5)
- San Francisco 49ers (8-7)
- Philadelphia Eagles (8-7)
This would leave the Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints, all at 7-8, on the outside looking in. It’s also worth noting that the Rams and 49ers would be squaring off to start the playoffs.
With that info established, there’s two ways that the 49ers can lock up their trip to the playoffs.
San Francisco’s first option is the most simple: win. If the Niners win and improve to 9-7 while New Orleans loses or ties to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, they’re in. When the Saints and Panthers met in Week 2 of this year, Carolina won 26-7.
The other option would require a tie from San Francisco, so we’re already looking at an unlikely occurrence. Further, the Niners would need the Saints, Falcons and Vikings to all lose for the tie to be enough to get the 49ers into the playoffs.
If San Francisco loses on Sunday, there is no way they can clinch a spot, so the objective is clear. That being said, the 49ers still need help to finalize their spot on Sunday, so the San Francisco camp will be rooting for Carolina when they face New Orleans in the Superdome.
Fate of the NFC West Still in Balance
While the Niners can’t win the NFC West at this point, the division title is still up for grabs between the Rams and Cardinals. The Cardinals are a game back, but both teams have tough challenges in Week 17.
Los Angeles is traveling to Baltimore to face the 8-7 Ravens. Meanwhile, the Cardinals head to Texas to face the Cowboys. If the Cardinals lose and the Rams win, Los Angeles clinches the NFC West.
Conversely, the reversed result will put the teams on an even playing field for the division title in Week 18. If both teams win or lose or tie, the division title will be decided in Week 18. In either of those cases, the 49ers could spoil the Rams’ division hopes with a win when they face off. Meanwhile, the Cardinals are facing the Seattle Seahawks in Week 18.
No matter what, there is still a considerable amount of drama for the Niners and the NFC West as a whole to close the 2021 regular season.
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How the 49ers Can Clinch a Playoff Berth on Sunday