The 49ers sat idle Sunday following their Thursday night loss to the Titans. While San Francisco couldn’t help their playoff chances on the field, the Rams’ 30-23 win over the Vikings in Minnesota benefitted the 49ers.
With Los Angeles knocking off the Vikings, Minnesota fell to 7-8 for the season. They’re now sitting at the No. 9 seed going into the late games Sunday. One more win for the San Francisco and one more loss for the Vikings pushes the latter out of range to threaten the 49ers’ playoff spot.
Minnesota faces the Packers in Green Bay in Week 17 while the 49ers host the Houston Texans. The Vikings will certainly be underdogs in that game while the 49ers will be favored at home against a 4-11 Houston club.
Two key games remain this week. San Francisco needs Dallas to beat Washington on Sunday night, and they need the Dolphins to stay hot and beat the Saints on Monday night. If both of those games shake out in the 49ers’ favor, New Orleans, Minnesota and Atlanta would all be 7-8 while the 49ers and Eagles occupied the No. 6 and 7 seeds at 8-7.
There aren’t any guarantees over the final couple weeks, but getting Minnesota a full game behind San Francisco is helpful and strengthens the 49ers’ position going into the final two weeks.