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San Francisco 49ers: Early predictions for a possible 2018 playoff push

By Aaron Tan

SANTA CLARA, CA - DECEMBER 24: Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers congratulates Jimmy Garoppolo #10 after a one-yard touchdown run against the Jacksonville Jaguars during their NFL game at Levi's Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Robert Reiners/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - DECEMBER 24: Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers congratulates Jimmy Garoppolo #10 after a one-yard touchdown run against the Jacksonville Jaguars during their NFL game at Levi's Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Robert Reiners/Getty Images) /
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After riding a 6-1 record to end the season, the San Francisco 49ers have a lot to look forward to. Can they make a playoff push in 2018, and if they do, how far would they go?

It’s no secret the San Francisco 49ers ended the regular season as the NFL’s hottest team after the insertion of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo into the starting lineup. As a result, many experts are picking them to find success next year and even make it into the postseason.

And yes, as of now, I agree with them. As of now, I believe that the San Francisco 49ers will be a playoff team next year.

San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers /

San Francisco 49ers

49ers’ 2018 Regular Season Record

We’re not even that close to approaching the NFL offseason, so you should probably take this with a grain of salt.

The 49ers have a very easy home schedule. They will play the NFC West (Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks), Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders and New York Giants. Most of the aforementioned teams are coming off disappointing 2017 seasons where they were expected to do well.

Call me crazy, but I think (as of now, of course) the 49ers will go 8-0 at Levi’s Stadium next season. Most of the teams coming to Santa Clara are rebuilding, and the only teams that I could possibly see beating the 49ers are the Rams and Lions. However, given the home-field advantage, I’ll take the 49ers in those matchups as well.

The road schedule is an entirely different story. The 49ers will play the NFC West (Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks), Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings on the road. Most of these teams will be tough, so I’ll go over most individual matchups for this road slate.

The games I see the Niners easily winning on the road are the ones against Arizona, Seattle and Tampa Bay. Arizona and Seattle are rebuilding, so we actually get to see the Niners sweep them this year! Tampa Bay is in a very awkward state right now. The Bucs need a run game and better defense, but most importantly, they need quarterback Jameis Winston to step up. Winston clearly regressed this past season, and I think he’ll make his fair share of mistakes against San Francisco next season.

The 49ers-Rams game will be a tossup. Even though the Rams are currently the more talented team, the 49ers match up very well against them. I mean, a Brian Hoyer-led 49ers team almost beat L.A. last season. However, L.A. does possess home-field advantage in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, so the Rams should be able to pull out a close win.

LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 31: Aldrick Robinson #19 of the San Francisco 49ers scores a touchdown against Los Angeles Rams during the fourth quarter at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 31, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 31: Aldrick Robinson #19 of the San Francisco 49ers scores a touchdown against Los Angeles Rams during the fourth quarter at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 31, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /

San Francisco’s other trip to Los Angeles will be against the Chargers, who should have been in the playoffs this season. The team was plagued by a 0-4 start, but turned out to be one of the most well-rounded teams in the league by season’s end. This should also be a close game, but I feel like the Chargers will squeak out a last-minute drive to win the game.

Garoppolo and Co. will also head out to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, where another well-rounded team lies. Unless the Niners snag a shutdown cornerback in the offseason, Tyreek Hill should burn the secondary all game long. This will probably be a shootout where San Francisco again collapses at the end of the game.

The road schedule doesn’t get easier after that because the 49ers will have to go to the “Frozen Tundra” in Green Bay to face who, I personally think is the GOAT, Aaron Rodgers. Unless it snows during the game, I foresee another shootout with Rodgers finally emerging as victorious.

Finally, the 49ers will head to US Bank Stadium in Minnesota to face the Vikings — a team that possesses a very well-rounded group of players. The defense is full of star-studded players, and I do not think the cornerback group will not even be close to good enough to face Vikings receivers Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen.

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Chalk up another loss for the 49ers here.

After all that, the 49ers will end up with an 11-5 record and end up in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.

So what happens after that?

It’s pretty much impossible to foresee who the Niners would be playing in the Wild Card round a year for now, so I’ll just say this. San Francisco will probably win the Wild Card game and move on to the divisional game, and lose a close game to a top two seed.

Next: NFL quarterback tiers: Categorizing league starters for 2018

However, making it to the divisional round is huge progress for this team. And with the addition of Garoppolo, who knows? Maybe this team will go even further than my season prediction and win the Super Bowl right away, launching a new dynasty.