SF 49ers: Week 11 rooting guide during their bye

With the SF 49ers currently on their bye week, Niner Noise looks around the league to dish out your Week 11 rooting guide.

Well, at least SF 49ers fans don’t have to worry about their team losing this week.

The Niners’ bye in Week 11 comes at the perfect time, a chance for head coach Kyle Shanahan’s team to rest up and refocus after going through a debilitating three-game losing streak, including a rough Week 10 road loss against the New Orleans Saints where the defense did about everything it could to keep the game close.

Plus, Shanahan and Co. can look forward to a number of key players returning from significant injuries after the break, then prepare for a crucial Week 12 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, who’ll be coming off a short week after having to travel to the East Coast to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football.

That right there is one game Niners fans will want to watch. At 6-3, the Rams could easily wind up first or third within the hotly contested NFC West after their bout with the Bucs.

Particularly after the Seattle Seahawks pulled off their seventh win of the season in their Thursday Night Football clash with the other NFC West contender, the Arizona Cardinals.

So, San Francisco fans, are you wondering who to root for this weekend and why? Let’s go.

SF 49ers Week 11 rooting guide, bye-week edition

Here are the current NFC standings and playoff picture heading into Sunday’s slate of games:

1. Green Bay Packers (7-2)
2. New Orleans Saints (7-2)
3. Seattle Seahawks (7-3)
4. Philadelphia Eagles (3-5-1)
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-3)
6. Los Angeles Rams (6-3)
7. Arizona Cardinals (6-4)

It’s probably best for the 11th-seeded SF 49ers to cede the division, so Seattle’s win makes for a situation where the Niners continuously hope both the Cardinals and Rams continue to fall in the standings. Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears, who are also on a bye this week, are in the hunt with San Francisco.

As for the rest of Sunday and Monday’s games, here you go.

Detroit Lions (4-5) @ Carolina Panthers (3-7) — Panthers

The Lions are a game up on the 49ers in the loss column, and the Niners would have to leapfrog Detroit to climb out of the No. 11 spot. Too bad Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey (shoulder) is still out.

Atlanta Falcons (3-6) @ New Orleans Saints (7-2) — Falcons

The NFC South is probably going to send two teams to the postseason, the Saints and Buccaneers. Considering how the SF 49ers are viewing their own division and the Bucs hosting the Rams, it might be best to pull for the Falcons beating up on a Saints team forced to start quarterback Jameis Winston in light of Drew Brees’ broken ribs.

That development could possibly lead to another Wild Card spot being up for grabs.

Dallas Cowboys (2-7) @ Minnesota Vikings (4-5) — Cowboys

It’s weird to think it, but Niners fans should be Cowboys fans this weekend. Even though Dallas is terrible, has lost four straight and will face off against a hot Vikings team that has won three in a row.

Still, the Vikings are sitting two spots ahead of San Francisco in the NFC standings. The Cowboys need to be spoilers here.

Los Angeles Rams (6-3) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-2) — Buccaneers

Ideally, the SF 49ers would like to be two games back of the Rams heading into their contest against each other in Week 12. With the Niners already having won their first bout against LA this season, another win would ensure Shanahan’s squad would have the tiebreaker if these two teams wind up finishing with identical regular-season records.

And that could be the difference between a Wild Card spot and couch surfing this January for San Francisco.