Predicting 49ers final 4 regular-season games, playoff results

The 49ers have four remaining regular-season games in 2021 to clinch a playoff berth, and Niner Noise predicts how the back quarter of the year pans out. The playoffs, too.

Yes, Niner Noise’s prediction for the San Francisco 49ers is they’ll make it into the postseason. You probably figured that out already.

The Niners have already endured a tumultuous 2021 campaign, one which led off with NFL schedule predictions that were pretty lofty to begin the year, followed by not-so-bright ones after the team endured a four-game losing streak and were seemingly already focused on the offseason.

It’s funny just how much the narrative can change on a week-to-week basis.

Now at 7-6 and holding the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoff picture, San Francisco arguably just has to win two of its remaining four games to confirm a Wild Card berth.

Fortunately, there are some winnable games remaining on the NFL schedule in the final quarter of the regular season.

Starting off with the first game on our back-four prediction list, a Week 15 home bout against the 6-7 Atlanta Falcons.

Week 15: 49ers vs. Falcons — Sunday, Dec. 19

It’s a bit strange to see the Falcons just a game below the .500 mark and still very much alive in the NFC playoff picture considering they are owners of the NFL’s 26th-ranked scoring offense and 28th-ranked scoring defense this season.

But here we are.

Two years ago, quarterback Matt Ryan and Co. led Atlanta to an upset trap-game win over the 49ers late in the year as the Niners were pushing all the way to the Super Bowl. While the defeat was a dent in the side of an otherwise remarkable regular-season campaign for San Francisco, it did serve as a reminder for the 49ers to maintain momentum.

This year, however, Ryan no longer has wide receiver Julio Jones at his disposal, the player who caught that game’s winning touchdown, and the Falcons are also dealing with having one of the league’s worst rushing and passing offenses, fully lacking weapons to help support their veteran signal-caller.

A basic game plan should come into play here for the Niners, who simply need to avoid making their own mistakes and shouldn’t have to worry too much about being overpowered on either side of the ball.

If San Francisco doesn’t play down to the level of competition and avoids the trap game, it’ll win.