49ers news: Niners 1st to clinch playoff berth, injury updates, Deebo Samuel returner

The 49ers are the first team in the NFL this season to clinch a playoff spot, thanks to some help from the Giants on Monday Night Football.

The San Francisco 49ers claimed the No. 1 team in the NFC over the last two weeks by beating both the previously top-seeded Philadelphia Eagles and then the Seattle Seahawks in respective weeks, while the Dallas Cowboys did their part by beating Philly last Sunday, too.

It's weird to be thankful for what Dallas did, but it at least served the Niners at the right time.

However, Week 14 got a wee bit better for head coach Kyle Shanahan and Co., thanks to some additional help from another team, one that probably wasn't viewed as being of much assistance to San Francisco's playoff hopes.

But, if the scuffling New York Giants defeated the streaking Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football to close out the week, the 49ers would then become the first team in the NFL to clinch a playoff berth.

Well, guess what? It happened.

49ers are 1st team in NFL to clinch playoff spot this season

If Green Bay lost on Monday night, the 10-3 Niners would clinch a postseason berth.

Thanks to the G-Men's 24-22 victory over the Packers, San Francisco is now guaranteed a trip to the playoffs before any other team.

With Week 14 in the books, here are the top seven seeds in the NFC playoff picture:

1. San Francisco 49ers (10-3)*
2. Dallas Cowboys (10-3)*
3. Detroit Lions (9-4)*
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7)*
5. Philadelphia Eagles (10-3)
6. Minnesota Vikings (7-6)
7. Green Bay Packers (6-7)

If the 49ers win out, they're guaranteed to have that top seed.

But that might require some good news on the injury front.

49ers injury news: Javon Hargrave, Charvarius Ward likely dodged serious injuries

One of the negative aspects of the Niners' Week 14 victory over the Hawks was that San Francisco suffered injuries to several key players, including cornerback Charvarius Ward (groin) and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (hamstring).

Both exited the game and didn't return.

On Monday, Kyle Shanahan provided some updates on those two:

"Javon Hargrave, he had a hamstring. Maybe a chance later in this week for this game. We’ve just got to monitor to see how this week goes. Charvarius Ward, similar with his status for this week a maybe, towards the end of the week. We’ll have to see how it goes. He had a groin."

Defensive tackle Arik Armstead (foot), who missed Sunday's contest, is probably going to miss at least one more game, while linebacker Oren Burks is dealing with a knee issue and will likely be out a few weeks, per Shanahan.

Luckily, it appears as if Hargrave, Ward and even Armstead are pegged to return sooner than later, and no one is dealing with a serious and potentially season-ending injury.

Interestingly enough, though, injuries opened up the possibility of playing wide receiver Deebo Samuel on special teams lately, too.

49ers to continue using Deebo Samuel in return game

It's been a while since the 49ers used Deebo Samuel as a return specialist, 2021, to be exact. But, with fellow wide receiver and returner Ray-Ray McCloud (rib) on injured reserve, the need to have an explosive return specialist is clearly there.

The last two weeks, Samuel has helped out here on kickoff returns, while rookie wideout Ronnie Bell has handled punt-return duties.

Even when McCloud returns, it sounds as if Kyle Shanahan will continue using Samuel as a return specialist:

"It was also a decision we were thinking about going to regardless. Nothing against Ray-Ray or anyone. It was just more ways to get a special player like Deebo the ball in his hand. We’ve got to take that risk-reward every week. We’ve decided to do it the last two weeks and we’ll come up with that decision each week here going forward."

The risk-reward factor is there. Samuel has been electrifying with the ball in his hands this season, but he also has a notable injury history, too, one the Niners would be wise to avoid flirting with by exposing him to increased contact.

So far, Samuel has four kickoff returns with an average of 25.5 yards per takeout.

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