The 49ers have been inconsistent over the course of 2024, and a hypothetical scenario opens the door to more frustrations.
Honestly, "what-ifs" are silly exercises.
What-ifs are hypothetical. They don't actually exist, yet fans and analysts alike love to delve into the realm of what "could" have happened if one thing or another went a different way.
Case in point, for the 5-4 San Francisco 49ers, what if they had held onto fourth-quarter leads in Weeks 3 and 5 against the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals, respectively? What if the Niners didn't let things get out of hand in Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings?
Of course, San Francisco did suffer fourth-quarter collapses against its two NFC West rivals, and it also let things fall apart throughout Week 2's game in Minnesota.
But, for the what-if fans out there, things could have been notably different if one modest leaguewide change had panned out.
49ers would be 1st in NFC West if one-score games had opposite results
The folks over at Kelley Ford Rankings played around with a unique but easy-to-digest scenario after 10 weeks.
What if every single one-score game across the NFL went the opposite way?
What if every one-possession NFL game had the opposite result? pic.twitter.com/wpj5Yk3bNR
— Kelley Ford (@KFordRatings) November 13, 2024
Interestingly enough, the team the 49ers just beat, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, would own the No. 1 seed in the conference.
But the Niners would hold the No. 2 seed in the playoff standings (they're currently out of the postseason picture and in the No. 8 seed) and would be leading the NFC West. Sure, a one-game improvement (6-3) doesn't seem like much, but Arizona dropping to 5-5 is significant enough, and San Francisco holding that tiebreaker would matter in this case.
And the hypothetical result would still generate more happiness from 49ers fans' vantage points, as the Seattle Seahawks would still be last place within the division at 3-6, competing for a top pick in next year's NFL Draft. So would the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs, who'd be 2-7 and dead last in the AFC.
Haha.
Unfortunately for the what-if crowd, this is just a simple exercise and perhaps does little other than suggest there are a good deal of one-score games across the league this season.