The 49ers’ margin for error has evaporated entirely after their third consecutive loss. They’ll head into their Week 9 bye in second place in the NFC West, a spot they haven’t been since the middle of last season.
San Francisco entered Sunday atop the division by a half game with a 5-2 record. The Seattle Seahawks lurked just behind them at 4-2. While the Seahawks took care of business against the Browns, the 49ers couldn’t do the same against the Bengals. Now the NFC West standings look like this:
1. Seahawks (5-2)
2. 49ers (5-3)
3. Rams (3-5)
4. Cardinals (1-7)
If there’s any good news to be found for the 49ers it’s that they don’t have to worry about the Rams at the moment. They’re two games up on them and hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Chasing the Seahawks won’t be easy though, especially if San Francisco doesn’t get straightened out by the end of the bye week. They still face Seattle twice in Weeks 12 and 14, so there’ll be opportunities to regain the division via head-to-head wins as long as they stay in step with Seattle leading up to that point.
