Coming off an embarrassing 42-26 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams, a loss that knocked them out of the top seven in the NFC standings for the first time all season, the San Francisco 49ers got back on track this past Sunday with a dominant 41-22 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
The big storyline of the day, of course, was the return of quarterback Brock Purdy, who took the field for the first time since the Niners' Week 4 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and performed beautifully, earning a 133.5 passer rating after completing 73.1 percent of his 26 throws for an even 200 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. George Kittle, who led San Francisco with six catches for 67 yards, was the beneficiary of two of those TD passes, with Christian McCaffrey, who recorded five receptions for 40 yards, catching the other.
McCaffrey also added 81 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, averaging a season-high 6.2 yards per carry. As such, CMC overtook Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor in the race for the most total yards from scrimmage this season, upping his total to 1,439 to Taylor's 1,399.
The 49ers' defense wasn't quite as sharp, allowing a season-high 488 total yards, the vast majority of which came from Jacoby Brissett, who completed an NFL-record 47 passes for 452 yards and two touchdowns. Robert Saleh's unit did, however, force a season-high three turnovers, twice intercepting Brissett and forcing a goal-line fumble from Elijah Higgins.
With the win, the 49ers improved to 7-4 on the season and now find themselves back in the top seven in the conference standings.
49ers hold the final NFC Wild Card slot heading into Week 12
Here's a quick look at the entire NFC playoff picture heading into Week 12 of this 2025 campaign.
Updated NFC playoff picture
- Philadelphia Eagles (8-2, 1st NFC East)
- Los Angeles Rams (8-2, 1st NFC West)
- Chicago Bears (7-3, 1st NFC North)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-4, 1st NFC South)
- Seattle Seahawks (7-3, 2nd NFC West)
- Green Bay Packers (6-3-1, 2nd NFC North)
- San Francisco 49ers (7-4, 3rd NFC West)
- Detroit Lions (6-4, 3rd NFC North)
- Carolina Panthers (6-5, 2nd NFC South)
- Dallas Cowboys (4-5-1, 2nd NFC East)
- Minnesota Vikings (4-6, 4th NFC North)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-7, 4th NFC West)
- Atlanta Falcons (3-7, 3rd NFC South)
- Washington Commanders (3-8, 3rd NFC East)
- New Orleans Saints (2-8, 4th NFC South)
- New York Giants (2-9, 4th NFC East)
As you can see, the Niners, after dropping to eighth a week ago, jumped up one spot into the No. 7 position after the Detroit Lions fell to 6-4 with an ugly loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football.
As it pertains to the NFC West race, San Francisco failed to gain any ground on the first-place Rams but did move within a half-game of the Seattle Seahawks, who currently own the first Wild Card spot. Los Angeles and Seattle, of course, just met for the first time this season on Sunday, with the Rams taking a 21-19 victory.
With both games against the Rams and Cardinals now in the books, the Niners' lone remaining contest within the division comes in Week 18 against the Seahawks, whom they defeated in Week 1. In winning four of five games against its NFC West rivals, San Francisco currently owns the best winning percentage in the division, which could certainly come into play in a tiebreaker scenario down the line.
Outside of Seattle, the other team the 49ers are chasing in the Wild Card race is none other than the Green Bay Packers, who improved to 6-3-1 on Sunday with a 27-20 win over the New York Giants. That Week 4 tie with the Dallas Cowboys makes things a bit tricky, as San Francisco may have more wins, but also has one more loss.
As such, it comes down to winning percentage, with the Packers at .650 and the Niners just behind at .636.
The good news for San Francisco is that Green Bay statistically has the toughest remaining schedule in the entire NFL.
The Niners have some challenging matchups over the final three weeks of the season, with games against the Indianapolis Colts, the Chicago Bears, and the Seahawks, who currently have a combined record of 22-8. However, their next three games are against the Carolina Panthers, the Cleveland Browns (the much-needed bye week follows this one), and the Tennessee Titans, who have a combined record of 9-22.
So, they certainly need to take advantage of this upcoming stretch.