The San Francisco 49ers’ Week 10 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won’t be confused for a football masterclass.
San Francisco missed three field goals, muffed a punt, went one-for-three in the red zone and committed four defensive penalties for 39 yards on Tampa Bay’s game-tying drive late in the fourth quarter.
While the victory might have left some scratching their heads about how good this 49ers team is, they needed to get a win to stick around in the thick of the NFC playoff hunt.
They got a little help from the Miami Dolphins on Monday night. They dropped the Los Angeles Rams 23-15 and moved them to 4-5 on the season. It leaves the NFC West standings looking like this after 10 weeks:
1. Cardinals (6-4)
2. 49ers (5-4)
3. Rams (4-5)
4. Seahawks (4-5)
A 49ers loss would have kept them in third place and even further behind the Arizona Cardinals for the division lead, and Arizona has a relatively soft schedule coming up after their Week 11 Bye. Keeping pace with them was a big deal for the 49ers.
San Francisco also climbed up the overall NFC playoff picture. They’re still not in the top seven, but a wild card spot seems far more attainable now than it would’ve had they dropped Sunday’s game in Tampa Bay.
At 5-4, the 49ers sit one game behind the Green Bay Packers for the seventh and final playoff spot. Here’s what the NFC playoff picture looks like after Week 10:
1. Lions (8-1)
2. Eagles (7-2)
3. Falcons (6-4)
4. Cardinals (6-4)
5. Vikings (7-2)
6. Commanders (7-3)
7. Packers (6-3)
8. 49ers (5-4)
9. Bears (4-5)
10. Rams (4-5)
11. Seahawks (4-5)
It’s not exactly where the 49ers wanted to be, but winning in Week 10 put them in position to make a run, and gave themselves a little bit of margin for error if they drop one of their upcoming games against the Seahawks, Packers or Bills.
Sunday might not have been pretty, but the 49ers got a win they needed. Now they need to find ways to play better down the stretch to take advantage of the spot they’re in entering Week 11.
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source link