New Orleans Saints: Ranking each team in the 2019-20 NFL Playoffs
San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco has produced one of the most improbable turnarounds in NFL history.
In 2018, the 49ers finished (4-12) and they lost starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a torn ACL in Week 3 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
One year later, the team finished (13-3) and earned the NFC’s No. 1 seed, by inches.
Even though the 49ers got away with defensive pass interference in their 26-21 win in Week 17 over the Seattle Seahawks, they showed throughout the regular season that they are no fluke.
They won three games against playoff teams, the Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks, and finished with the league’s second-best offense.
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It helped when the 49ers traded a third- and fifth-round pick for Denver Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders and a fifth-round pick back in October.
San Francisco averaged 29.9 points and 381.1 yards per contest, and also had an intimidating force on the other side of the ball.
The 49ers’ defense ranked eighth in the league by allowing just 19.4 points and 281.8 total yards per game.
However, the San Francisco 49ers will have to rematch against one of the teams they defeated in the regular season, and that loser from the previous matchup will have a huge revenge motivator.
Plus, it will have to play great football without putting much pressure on Garoppolo, with many pundits saying he is the weak link of this juggernaut.
Most likely, the 49ers will face the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional Playoff, a team that defeated them 27-24 in overtime in Week 10 to drop San Francisco from the undefeated ranks.
Week 17’s finish will be on both teams’ minds if they do if fact meet up in the second round of the playoffs.