The San Francisco 49ers have been to two Super Bowls in the last five seasons, and to two NFC Championship Games in two of the other three, but this year they are in danger of missing the playoffs altogether.
San Francisco sits at 5-6 through 12 weeks, their most recent loss a 38-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers while without their starting quarterback Brock Purdy.
Purdy’s shoulder injury was the latest in a long line for the Niners, who have had key contributors Nick Bosa, Trent Williams, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle and Deebo Samuel all sidelined at various points in the season and No. 1 receiver Brandon Ayuk is out for the year during.
Despite all this, the 49ers are just one win out of first place in their division, with the Seattle Seahawks (6-5), Arizona Cardinals (6-5), Los Angeles Rams (5-6) and San Francisco all combined fighting for just one possible postseason berth for it.
Could it be the 49ers heading to Buffalo next to take on the 9-2 Sunday Night Football? live on Sky Sports NFL from 1.20 on Monday – which ultimately dominate the pack.
Neil Reynolds, Jeff Reinbold and Phoebe Schecter Inside The Huddle Podcast expressed their thoughts…
“Stuff Knocked Out by Niners”
Sky Sports’ Neil Reynolds. “The Niners are 5-6 heading into the 9-2 Bills coming off their bye week. It feels like these teams are on two very different paths right now.
“There was a shot on Kyle Shanahan (in the loss at Green Bay), he looked so tense, like he’s aged this year.
“And I was watching the game thinking, “Where’s Fred Warner?” He’s had so many games where he’s screaming for your attention, and that’s because I think a lot of his game is driven by his intelligence, but also his intensity, I just feel like the stuffing is out of the 49.
“Losing Brock Purdy seemed to be the last straw. It was a really bad night for the Niners, their body language and their play would have been alarming.
“But they’re still in it … Seattle, who’s atop that division at 6-5, there’s really nothing between those teams.
“They just have to hang in there, try to get through the line, and when they come in, we know their weapons are dangerous.”
“It’s too early to write the 49ers’ obituary”
Sky Sports’ Geoff Reinbold. “I think it’s too early to write their obituary, but of course this team needs to get healthy, number one.
“You look at the list of players that are out and you’re talking about significant contributors. Trent Williams is gone, Nick Bosa is gone, you go right through the whole team.
“If it doesn’t slip away from them, if they don’t go on a bad streak until they get healthy, they have a chance.
“George Kittle, give me Kittle, the best tackle in the league right now. I just think he’s something, he continues to play game after game.
“And that division, you look at the 49ers, the Rams, the Hawks and the Cardinals, it’s still anybody’s game, anybody’s race, plus they all have to play each other on the field.
“I think the team that gets healthy and gets hot at the end will make the playoffs.”
“McCaffrey is not as explosive as we expected”
Sky Sports’ Phoebe Schecter. “I don’t know where you put the 49ers right now. We’ve said a few times that they’re really in the middle of the pack in terms of what they do.
“Even Christian McCaffrey, he’s not as explosive as we’d hoped. You add in a kind of lingering Achilles problem, I just don’t believe he’s going to be able to break off some really big runs. And that’s about it.” they relied as a team.
“I think the Bills, especially coming off their bye week, are in a lot better shape now, especially being at home, which could be a snowball game. All those factors and variables really favor the Bills.”
Watch Pittsburgh Steelers v Cincinnati Bengals from 6pm on Sunday live on Sky Sports NFL, followed by Philadelphia Eagles v Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills v San Francisco 49ers.