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Updated NFC standings, playoff picture after 49ers lose to Vikings

If there's good news, the 49ers are still only one game in the loss column behind the No. 1-seeded Eagles after Week 7.

By Peter Panacy

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison (L) in front of San Francisco 49ers safety Tashaun Gipson (R)
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison (L) in front of San Francisco 49ers safety Tashaun Gipson (R) / Stephen Maturen/GettyImages
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The 49ers are no longer the top seed in the NFC, and they're not even the No. 2 seed within the conference either after losing on Monday night to the Vikings.

The San Francisco 49ers can't be feeling good about a two-game losing streak after starting off the season on such a strong note, one that propelled them out to 5-0 before enduring back-to-back road defeats at the hands of the Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense, which was averaging more than 30 points per game, has gone stagnant and has failed to reach 20 points in a game over the last two weeks, while the defense was largely permeable in the Monday Night Football loss to Minnesota.

Good thing the Niners had that five-game win streak to start the season. Because of that, they're still right in the thick of the NFC playoff picture and hunt for a postseason berth.

But, what did Monday's defeat do to San Francisco in the standings?

49ers drop 2 spots in NFC playoff picture after loss to Vikings

Entering Week 7, the 49ers had been the No. 1 seed in the conference with tiebreaking leads over both the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions, both of whom had identical 5-1 records entering the week.

Philly won its Week 7 matchup over the Miami Dophins, though, which bumped them up into the No. 1 seed after the Niners' loss to the Vikings.

Detroit, meanwhile, lost in ugly fashion to the Baltimore Ravens.

But, because of strength-of-schedule tiebreakers, the Lions actually hold the No. 2 seed despite the same record, both overall (5-2) and within the conference (4-1), as San Francisco.

Here are the NFC playoff standings through Week 7:

  1. Philadelphia Eagles (6-1)
  2. Detroit Lions (5-2)
  3. San Francisco 49ers (5-2)
  4. Atlanta Falcons (4-3)
  5. Seattle Seahawks (4-2)
  6. Dallas Cowboys (4-2)
  7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3)

Related story: Christian McCaffrey has TDs in 16 consecutive games, inching closer to NFL record

The 49ers, still leading the NFC West over the Seattle Seahawks, hold one of those first four seeds that go do division winners.

If the regular season ended today, the Niners would host the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round, which would be the third consecutive year these two teams met in the postseason, San Francisco having dispatched Dallas in both contests.

Perhaps a third is in order, but there's still plenty of football left to be played before that pans out.

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