The 49ers need to win two of their next three games to guarantee a first-round bye and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. This provides the 49ers with options.
The 49ers can lose one of their final three games and still secure a first-round playoff bye. That’s how good things are for them.
In the NFC playoffs, the 49ers have a one-game lead over the Cowboys and Lions. Furthermore, the 49ers hold the tiebreaker over both teams, so even if they all finish with the same record, the 49ers will still be the No. 1 seed.
That means the 49ers only need to win two of their next three games to guarantee a first-round bye and homefield advantage.
During the playoffs. This provides the 49ers with options.
The 49ers could go all out to win their next two games against the Ravens and the Commanders, then sit their starters against the Rams in Week 18 to give their team two weeks off to rest and prepare for the divisional round of the playoffs.
However, the 49ers may not want to rest for two weeks in a row and risk becoming rusty. They might want to stay focused. In that case, the 49ers could rest all of their injured players against the Ravens this week, lose to Baltimore, then win the final two games to clinch the No. 1 seed.
Obviously, the 49ers would not deliberately lose to Baltimore. However, it is not a must-win game, and the Ravens are an AFC team. Furthermore, the Niners owe it to themselves to be as healthy as possible when the playoffs begin. It might not be a good idea to rush injured players back for a regular-season game against the Ravens.
Let’s see how the 49ers handle the last three games.
