As you know, the 49ers could lose at San Diego on Thursday night and still win the NFC West with a 7-9 record. The Niners would have to win their final two games and have the Rams and Seahawks both lose at least two of their remaining three games. In the event of ties, San Francisco would win the tiebreaker by virtue of a 5-1 division record.
If such a scenario were to occur, San Francisco would become the first 7-9 team to reach the playoffs and they would have done so without beating a team with a winning record in the regular season (assuming the 6-7 Raiders lose one of their final three games). The 49ers are 0-6 against teams with a winning record this season. Their wins have come against teams with a combined record of 25-40.
Here’s a look at the remaining schedules of the NFC West contenders followed by a few notes on the division:
49ers (5-8, 3-1 in NFC West)
12/16 at San Diego (7-6)
12/26 at St. Louis (6-7)
1/2 vs. Arizona (4-9)
Seahawks (6-7, 3-2)
12/19 vs. Atlanta (11-2)
12/26 at Tampa Bay (8-5)
1/2 vs. St. Louis (6-7)
Rams (6-7, 2-2)
12/19 vs. Kansas City (8-5)
12/26 vs. 49ers (5-8)
1/2 at Seattle (6-7)
• On Sunday, the Rams host the Chiefs, who may not have the
services of red-hot quarterback Matt Cassel following an appendectomy
last week. Cassel, who has thrown 19 touchdowns and one interception
since Week 5, didn’t play in Kansas City’s 31-0 loss to San Diego last
week and the Chiefs managed 67 yards with backup Brodie Croyle at the
helm.
In other words, Cassel’s health status is about as relevant as Patrick Willis’ this week for Niners fans. Here’s an update on the appendix-less Cassel.
• The Bills, Lions, Browns and Bengals — a stew of modern-day NFL
incompetence — have been outscored by a combined 141 points this
season. The four NFC West teams have been outscored by 236 points.
• The NFC West has had more starting quarterbacks (8) than road wins (6) this season.
• The NFC West has a 3-17 record against teams that currently have a winning record.
• The NFC West has a 12-22 record against non-division opponents.
• Here’s an entertaining NFC-West-what-a-mess story by San Jose Mercury News wordsmith Dan Brown from last week.
• Two teams have won their division with an 8-8 record — the 2008 Chargers and 1985 Browns.
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