Well, that was fun.
The San Francisco 49ers had a nice little run there, didn't they? They even made some of us believe for a second or two. But losing to the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday night brought us all back to reality and made us realize this team is likely cooked.
The loss will most likely mean the Niners will be the No. 6 seed in the NFC. This is assuming the Los Angeles Rams take care of business against the Arizona Cardinals.
That means the Niners are most likely to see the Philadelphia Eagles, in Philadelphia, in the Wild Card round, assuming the Eagles beat the Washington Commanders and the Chicago Bears beat the Detroit Lions.
Both Detroit and Washington are not going to be in the playoffs, so they have nothing to play for.
Imagining this 49ers team going into Philadelphia with how banged up they are makes one's skin crawl. Quarterback Brock Purdy having to go up against a stout Philly defense almost certainly without left tackle Trent Williams makes one worry more about whether Purdy will finish the game in one piece more than whether the Niners will even have a realistic chance to win the game.
We all remember what happened the last time Purdy started a playoff game in Philadelphia.
And even though Philadelphia's offense has looked like a shell of itself compared to the juggernaut it was last season when it won the Super Bowl, there is likely no better salve to restore confidence than to go up against a San Francisco defense that could not stop Seattle from running the ball all night long.
Do not be surprised if the Eagles' Saquon Barkley goes off against that porous unit.
It is easy to be negative, but the fact the 49ers even had a shot at the No. 1 seed is remarkable considering all the adversity they've gone through this season. They have been without so many key players and yet they still made us believe.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan deserves a ton of credit for the job he did, but chalk this year up as another disappointment. We're used to it at this point, so each time it hurts a little less and less.
Maybe next year, the Niners can find a new way to break our hearts, but at least they provided some fun times along the way this season and went a lot further than most people thought they would.