CLEVELAND -- With the latest possible bye week on the NFL schedule, the San Francisco 49ers have done their best not to look too far ahead, lest they drop a game they believe they otherwise should have won.
But, after rolling the Cleveland Browns 26-8 on Sunday afternoon, the Niners have finally made it to some much-needed time off. And despite losing superstar players such as linebacker Fred Warner (right ankle), defensive end Nick Bosa (right ACL), tight end George Kittle (hamstring) and quarterback Brock Purdy (right big toe), among others, for the rest of the season or long chunks of it, the Niners have become unlikely contenders in the NFC playoff picture.
"Looking from the outside in, if people would've said, 'Hey, you guys are going to be 9-4 going into the bye and you're not going to have Fred Warner and Nick Bosa and Kittle is going to miss the first five weeks and Brock's going to miss six, seven games, I think a lot of people would have laughed," Kittle said. "Kudos to our coaching staff, coach [Kyle] Shanahan and [general manager John] Lynch for bringing in the right guys to fill in those spots and developing players to take advantage of those situations."
Going into the Sunday night game, the 49ers have a game and a half lead on the Detroit Lions for the seventh and final spot in the NFC playoffs. Sunday's win, paired with the Los Angeles Rams' loss to the Carolina Panthers, also pulled the Niners back within a game of the Rams in the NFC West division.
What's more, the 49ers have done most of their damage against opponents in the division (a 4-1 mark) and the conference (8-2), giving them a leg up in many of the primary tiebreakers down the stretch.
While Sunday's win came against an AFC opponent, the 49ers viewed it as critical to their playoff hopes because it capped a manageable three-game, pre-bye stretch against the likes of the Arizona Cardinals, Panthers and Browns, teams with a combined 13 wins on the season.
"Every game from that Arizona game was a must-win," right guard Dominick Puni said. "You can't really take any for granted. You can't give any other team anything, and that's been our mindset these past three weeks. We really showed up."
By winning those games, the 49ers have positioned themselves to host the one-win Tennessee Titans in the first game after the bye in what should be a golden opportunity to get to a 10th win before a more difficult finishing stretch at Indianapolis and home against Chicago and Seattle. ESPN's Football Power Index gives the Niners an 88.8% chance to make the postseason heading into Sunday night.
This week, Shanahan said the team will come in for a couple of days, including wrapping up Sunday's win on Monday afternoon and then do a little bit of work on Tuesday before parting ways for the week.
That downtime should allow some bumps and bruises to heal, including for fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who departed Sunday's game with a rib injury and did not return. Shanahan said Juszczyk will have further testing on the ribs on Monday, though Juszczyk told ESPN he thought the bye week would allow him to be ready to play Tennessee on Dec. 14.
San Francisco should also get back kicker Eddy Pineiro (right hamstring), linebacker Tatum Bethune (high right ankle sprain) and defensive end Sam Okuayinonu (ankle) against the Titans or soon after.
The hope is a little down time, even at the latest possible time allowed by the NFL schedule, will have the Niners healthier and ready to make a run down the stretch.
"I love where we're at right now," Shanahan said. "I believe we'd be in the playoffs today if it started, and we've got four more games left to make sure we continue that. It's been a long way for a bye week... It's finally here. Mentally and physically, it will be awesome to rest. We'll be able to come back from that with four games to play for a chance to get in the playoffs. It's all you can ask for."