The bye week is over for the San Francisco 49ers, and they will get back into action in Week 9 against the Las Vegas Raiders. It seems they are choosing to take a cautious approach with Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel, which is probably the wise move, but it begs the question: Should San Francisco focus on getting to the playoffs healthy rather than trying to get the No. 1 seed in the NFC?
That may seem like a dumb, and potentially premature, question, and maybe they don’t have to choose one over the other.
But, given the age of their roster and the number of injuries they have already suffered this season, it's worth wondering whether the Niners should be overly cautious with their veterans in the hope they can enter the playoffs with as many of those guys available as possible.
Is health or No. 2 seed the bigger priority for 49ers?
The 49ers are at 6-1 and have a pretty sizable lead in the NFC West. The Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams are both at 4-4, and the Arizona Cardinals are 3-5. San Francisco has beaten all three of its division rivals once this season, and while the division race is a long way from being over, if the 49ers are able to win their next three games and are 9-1 going into their Week 12 matchup with Seattle, maybe they choose to be more conservative with some of their players.
Evans played through ailments the first game against Seattle, and he’s a huge reason the 49ers won that contest. But if they have a pretty comfortable lead in the division later in the season, maybe they will ease off the gas a bit.
Right now, the Chicago Bears seem like the biggest threat in the NFC for the Niners, and in order to fend them off, the 49ers may have to win 13 or 14 games, potentially. Are they willing to do that if it means having to throw Evans, Samuel, and other out there if they aren’t at full health, or would they rather rest them, take the No. 2 seed, and take their chances on having a road game in the playoffs?
One could argue the bye week and home-field advantage that comes with being the No. 1 seed is worth going all-out for, especially since the only two times San Francisco has made the Super Bowl under head coach Kyle Shanahan was when the Niners had the No. 1 seed.
Plus, it would give the veterans another week to rest, but maybe they choose to make Week 18 against the Arizona Cardinals their bye week if the NFC West is wrapped up and then they can try to win four playoff games rather than three.
There’s no right way to do it, and a lot of this will be decided if the 49ers can take care of business these next few weeks, which will not be an easy stretch, but they’re going to have tough decisions to make later in the season if they are in the hunt for the No. 1 seed and continue dealing with health issues.
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