With their postseason berth already secured, the San Francisco 49ers can now guarantee that their 2023 season will go past Week 18.
Additionally, the team won their division, securing a home playoff opener. Still, the major objective is to guarantee the NFC’s top seed and home-field advantage, secure a first-round bye in the playoffs, and create the least amount of obstacles in the way of a smooth journey to Super Bowl 58.
After losing to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night, San Francisco may need to win its last two games in order to do this. This coming Saturday, the 49ers have the opportunity to earn home-field advantage, but it will only come about if they defeat the Washington Commanders and the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles both lose.
The 49ers cannot afford to undervalue the Commanders or their opponent, the Los Angeles Rams, who they play next weekend.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan told Adam Copeland during an interview on Bay Area radio station KNBR, “We have to win these two games in the next—I’m losing my math—nine days, whatever it is.” We anticipate receiving the first-round bye because we need it. And we have to win these two games in order to accomplish that.
“We have to win this one because, in my opinion, the Rams game is meaningless if we lose. Additionally, this club has lost a lot of ground in the previous two games, and in each of those contests, they have changed the quarterback. And the other person didn’t take care of the ball and turned it over, while the guys entered and took care of it.”
Against the New York Jets this past weekend, Sam Howell, the quarterback for the Commanders, was benched. Jacoby Brissett, who took his place, came close to pulling off a stunning comeback but was unsuccessful.
Although Ron Rivera, the head coach of the Commanders, declared that Brissett would start the game against the 49ers, Brissett is now categorized as “questionable” because of a hamstring injury he suffered during Friday’s practice in Washington.
Naturally, that came about following the Thursday-recorded and Friday-aired conversation with Shanahan.
“This guy’s (Brissett) come in and hasn’t turned it over and he’s just gotten rid of it,” Shanahan said. “They also have a number of talented players on offense, including their skill receivers and their running back, who is expected to play this week after missing the previous three games. Those people are an issue. They have the ability to score and make plays.
“Yes, it is a very good thing for us that they do not have DEs Montez Sweat and Chase Young.” Their two inside players have the ability to completely ruin a game, therefore I’m really glad they don’t have them. It all began last year when we played Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne, two of the best defensive tackles in the league. It began with those two inside players even with Sweat and Chase on the outside.
Therefore, you hope that a team isn’t playing as hard and other such things because you know they’re out of it. However, if you look at how they ended these last two games, when they brought in Brissett, you can see how this team can come together, how coach Ron is, and that the guys aren’t going to give up on him. And I’m confident that they’ll arrive here eager to play.
“Last week, we suffered an emotional loss. We need to make sure we’re prepared before leaving and head to Washington to take care of business.”
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