5 things 49ers fans can be thankful for so far in 2021

No. 1: 49ers are back in the NFL playoff picture

A month ago, fans were busy discussing the 49ers’ would-be NFL Draft position in 2022, and specifically, the first-round pick they don’t have because of last offseason’s trade-up to grab quarterback Trey Lance.

Not the playoffs. And that’s precisely what a four-game losing streak would do to a fanbase.

Granted, winning two games in a row isn’t exactly tough in itself. Even bad teams can do that. Yet the Niners having won three of their last four helped turn around what had previously been a dreadful stretch of football where the playoffs were completely out of question.

Again, a 5-5 record doesn’t exactly mean bragging rights. But factor in the fact San Francisco has amassed 61 points scored over the last two weeks combined, and that stretch has also seen a plus-4 net improvement in turnover differential. That big Week 10 win over the Rams helped set a tone no one saw coming, and the 49ers have the ability to continue their recent hot streak with what could be a massive playoff-implication game in Week 12 against the visiting Minnesota Vikings.

Those Vikings hold the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoff picture, them and the No. 7-seeded New Orleans Saints also boasting 5-5 records.

With a win, though, the Niners would leapfrog the Vikings and get out of the No. 8 non-postseason seed and be right back in the thick of the playoff hunt.

Unimaginable only a few weeks ago.

At any rate, San Francisco fans, all of us here at Niner Noise wish you a very happy Thanksgiving!