The sixth week of the season has been extremely kind to the San Francisco 49ers. The thing is, they haven't even played yet.
As the red and gold prepare for a Monday night contest against the Washington Commanders, they can take solace in the fact that, win or lose, they have already benefited greatly from the various results around the league.
Most notably, the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams both dropped games they probably shouldn't have. The Seahawks lost to a scuffling Broncos team on Thursday, and the Rams dropped an easy win against the Cardinals, in which Arizona kicked a last-second field goal to put them ahead.
Because of these two matchups, the Niners enter their contest 2.5 games up on the next closest team in the division.
49ers have already found good fortune in Week 6 (and the entire season)
There is no denying the 49ers have taken care of business. In terms of controlling the controllable, they have done about everything they can do to position themselves in the NFC driver's seat.
As for factors out of their control, those have broken in the way of San Francisco as well.
Both Seattle and Los Angeles were among this year's popular Super Bowl favorites heading into the season. Now, both teams have at least three losses and appear to have handed San Francisco the NFC West on a silver platter.
But that's not all that has gone the Niners' way. As of Monday, only three other teams in the conference have at least four wins. The Bears and Packers each have four, and the Vikings are on their bye week with a perfect 5-0 record.
Considering all three teams play in the NFC North, they will spend much of the next few months battling with each other for the division's top spot. All three have significant holes on their roster, and none present a true threat to the 49ers for the first seed in the NFC.
49ers' competitors are dropping like flies
Other projected competitors, like the Eagles, Buccaneers, and Cowboys, all lost on Sunday and now possess a sub-.500 record.
With everything seemingly breaking the 49ers' way, they will look to cement their lead over the rest of the conference with a win on Monday Night Football. With Brock Purdy playing at an elite level, anything is possible.
Kyle Shanahan's squad has already swept the first half of their divisional games, all but burying the rest of the division. They won't see another NFC West opponent until Week 12, when the Seahawks come to Santa Clara. By then, who knows how far the 49ers' divisional counterparts will have fallen.
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