A week ago, the San Francisco 49ers may have sent a thank-you card to safety Talanoa Hufanga and the Denver Broncos for upending the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football.
The Niners won't be sending any such cards to either the Philadelphia Eagles or Los Angeles Chargers, though, after winning over Denver 24-14 at Levi's Stadium.
Philly had a chance late to send L.A. to a 1-3 record, which would've been a crazy thought for anyone just a few months ago after most pundits labeled head coach Sean McVay's squad as a major Super Bowl favorite.
But Los Angeles managed to come from behind late, overcoming a 10-point second-half deficit and ultimately beating Philadelphia 24-20 to get back to the .500 mark while staying very much alive in the NFC West.
As for the winless (and hapless) Chargers? Well, they looked like their usual 2026 selves by losing 30-23 to the Hawks; the latter improved to 3-1.
49ers didn't get much help in NFC West standings after Week 4
At least the New York Giants upended the Arizona Cardinals, so it wasn't all bad news across the division for San Francisco.
Yet the 49ers may be thinking hard about Philadelphia's second-half collapse against the Rams, wondering how different the NFC West's makeup would've been, had L.A. not staged its comeback.
Here are the NFC West standings after four weeks now:
- San Francisco 49ers: 4-0
- Seattle Seahawks: 3-1
- Los Angeles Rams: 2-2
- Arizona Cardinals: 1-3
It would've been a vital contest either way. But the Niners' Week 5 road trip to the Pacific Northwest to take on Seattle could've had a vastly different feeling to it. Sure, it's already a chance for San Francisco to gain yet another in-division victory (it has two already after beating both the Rams and Cardinals), but enjoying even more distance from atop the NFC West down to the remainder of division rivals would've been ideal.
Too bad no one bothered to tell the Chargers or Eagles to help the 49ers a little bit.
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