Part of the reason the San Francisco 49ers’ win over the Dallas Cowboys was so massive is because of their place in the NFC West.
Had the 49ers lost to Dallas on Sunday night it would have dropped them to last place in the division, a half game below the 3-4 Los Angeles Rams. Instead, they won and put themselves in the thick of a logjam at the top.
Coming out of Sunday, the Arizona Cardinals lead the NFC West by way of head-to-head tiebreakers with the Seattle Seahawks and 49ers. All three teams are 4-4 after eight weeks.
The 49ers are in second place thanks to their head-to-head victory over the Seahawks.
Seattle is in third with the Rams bringing up the rear only a half game back of the 4-4 trio.
It’s clear, as currently constructed, the 49ers are going to be in a dogfight to reclaim the NFC West crown. They’ve struggled to close out games. Their injury situation has left them digging deep into their roster, and through half a season they don’t appear to be a Super Bowl contender.
Running back Christian McCaffrey’s return at some point after their Week 9 Bye will be helpful. However, the trade deadline is where the 49ers can create some real separation.
Neither the Seahawks nor Cardinals are likely to fancy themselves Super Bowl contenders. Both teams have been good, but the expectations for those clubs are significantly different than they are for the 49ers. There’s urgency in San Francisco that may not be felt in Seattle or Arizona.
The 49ers have a couple of clear needs to address at the deadline, and their front office during the Kyle Shanahan-John Lynch era hasn’t been shy about being aggressive.
Part of their need to make a move at the deadline is because they need to contend with the likes of Detroit, Kansas City and other Super Bowl contenders. The other part is creating some distance from the rest of their division.
San Francisco should be the best team in the NFC West. Approaching the deadline, they’re not. A couple of trades to shore up some of their issues on either side of the ball should help them re-establish dominance in the division in time to make a run and leave the rest of the logjam behind them.
