Niners Nation
The NFC West divisional race is heating up.
The San Francisco 49ers are trending up ahead of the second half of the season, currently standing at 4-4 coming off of their bye week.
The team opened up the practice window for star running back Christian McCaffrey and offensive lineman Jon Feliciano on Monday, positioning them to return sooner than later, potentially even in Week 10 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
McCaffrey’s return was a jolt of excitement for the locker room, as the team has been needing a spark and some form of consistency to settle down during the second half of the year.
Looking ahead, the 49ers still have good odds to make the playoffs, with FanDuel listing them as a -178 favorite to reach the postseason for the fourth straight year.
But, nothing is a guarantee in the NFL, and the 49ers have seen that apply to them on multiple occasions this year, losing close conference games to the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals.
Heading into the second half, should there be more concerns or optimism for San Francisco when looking at their schedule?
The 49ers enter the second half of the year with a contest against the depleted Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but their opponent has shown grit in each of their last two contests, nearly coming back against the Atlanta Falcons in a 31-26 loss before taking the Kansas City Chiefs to overtime on Monday in another defeat.
The game after that, however, will be one of the more important ones for San Francisco on their schedule. The 49ers host the Seattle Seahawks in another divisional game in Week 11, looking to sweep the season series after the former beat the latter 36-24 back in Week 6.
Seattle currently stands at 4-5 in a tight NFC West race, so this game could very well have bearings on the standings. More importantly, the 49ers need more divisional wins in the case of a tiebreaker or a close race in the division, making this game more important.
After a pair of tough matchups on the road against the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills, the 49ers return home for a matchup with the Chicago Bears, who have shown flashes, but have been inconsistent this year.
Then comes their next divisional game: A Week 15 home contest against the surging Los Angeles Rams, who have won three straight and now have both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua back in the fold for the stretch run.
Los Angeles has been competitive all year, playing in six one-score games, and they now are closer to full strength for the second half of the year, having already beaten the 49ers. This is a must-win game for San Francisco to split the season series, as both teams currently have a 4-4 record, so a tiebreaker could come into play here.
Then, following tough games against the Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions, with the latter coming on the road, San Francisco ends the year...
