San Francisco 49ers Control Their Playoff Fate After Win over New York Giants

It wasn’t always pretty, and it could have been so much more, but the San Francisco 49ers pulled out a second consecutive road victory against the New York Giants.  The team entered this two-game road trip against New Orleans and New York needing two victories to stay relevant.  The 49ers now sit at 6-4 and are suddenly very relevant to the postseason.

This was the 49ers’ last trip outside of the Pacific Time Zone this season.  They get to return to Santa Clara with the season opening up in front of them.  Their remaining schedule gives them a serious chance to make a run:

• Week 12 v. Washington (3-7, 0 miles traveled)
• Week 13 v. Seattle (6-4, 0 miles traveled)
• Week 14 @ Oakland (0-10, 54 miles traveled round-trip)
• Week 15 @ Seattle (6-4, 1,410 miles traveled round-trip)
• Week 16 v. San Diego (6-4, 0 miles traveled)
• Week 17 v. Arizona (9-1, 0 miles traveled)

Scott Eklund/Associated Press

For a team that regularly has one of the toughest travel schedules in the league—at 19,932 miles, the 49ers were seventh worst this year—having such a relaxed travel schedule to end the season is going to help rest aching bodies and give the 49ers a leg up on their postseason competition.  For comparison, here’s how far the rest of San Francisco’s major playoff competition has to travel:

• Dallas Cowboys: 9,454 miles
• Arizona Cardinals: 9,188 miles
• Seattle Seahawks: 8,374 miles
• Green Bay Packers: 3,838 miles
• Philadelphia Eagles: 3,026 miles
• Detroit Lions: 2,266 miles

That’s a significant advantage for the 49ers.  Things seem to be lining up for them to at least hit double-digit wins, which would, in most cases, be enough to see the 49ers through to the postseason as a wild card.  While the travel won’t cause all the above teams to falter, it’s likely to hurt one or two of them along the way.

The lack of travel will hopefully help the 49ers’ offense get into a rhythm.  The up-and-down offense was down again, failing to finish drives and capitalize off of turnovers.  The 16 points San Francisco scored could have been so much more; the 49ers had three drives of 10 plays or more and ended up with only six points out of them. 

The team has still not scored a fourth-quarter touchdown with its starting offense.  This should have been a rout, rather than a close win, when you consider the 49ers had the ball for nearly the entire first half.

They really need to go back to the run game more; Frank Gore was getting five yards per carry and still only toted the ball 19 times.  With that efficiency, and the 49ers sitting on a lead for most of the game, the 49ers should have leaned on him and Carlos Hyde a bit more.  As it was, the team did show an ability to move the ball, but not finish—that’s something that’s got to be improved when it comes time for games against Seattle and Arizona.

Al Bello/Getty Images

That doesn’t matter, however, as long as the defense keeps playing like it has been.  The defense intercepted Eli Manning five times.  The return of Aldon Smith brought life to the 49ers' pass rush; while they only sacked Eli Manning twice, the constant pressure forced bad throws and caused the interceptions.  The second half featured Smith and Aaron Lynch manning the two outside linebacker positions while Ahmad Brooks sat on the bench; this could be a preview of the 2015 defense.

It was another huge day for Chris Borland as well; Borland has thrust himself squarely into the Defensive Rookie of the Year conversation.  Borland had two interceptions, including the game-clinching one at the goal line in the fourth quarter.  He again led the team in tackles, this time “only” with 13.  He was all over the field—his play-recognition abilities leading to good positioning leading to great plays.

The defense has kept the team alive to this point, and that has given the offense time to try to correct its mistakes.  The offense wasn't awful against the Giants; it just seemed to peter out at exactly the wrong times.  It feels closer to being fixed—a matter of tweaks, as opposed to an outright overhaul.

Meanwhile, for the first time, the 49ers actually got help around the league in Week 11.   It’s seemed the past few weeks have seen all the contenders in the NFC get key wins, which is no good for teams coming from behind like the 49ers.  That changed in Week 11.

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

The Seattle Seahawks let Jamaal Charles run for 159 yards, dropping them to 6-4.  They face a much tougher schedule than the 49ers do from here on out, having to play Arizona twice rather than once and travel to Philadelphia.  While they’ve looked more solid on offense, that’s a very rough schedule to navigate in a tight wild-card race.

While the Arizona Cardinals' winning might feel bad for the 49ers, it actually helps because it knocked down the Detroit Lions.  The Lions drop to 7-3, tied with the Green Bay Packers atop the NFC North and one game ahead of San Francisco.  At least one of those two teams will pick up a loss when they play each other in Week 17, too, further dropping them back.  The 49ers need to catch two teams to make the playoffs, and the Lions will be easier to catch than the Cardinals.

Most importantly, however, the Eagles got throttled by the Packers, dropping them to 7-3.  That result means that the 49ers will control their own fate for the first time in a month—if they win out, they will definitely make the playoffs.  The Eagles and Cowboys play each other twice in the last month, meaning at least one of them will fall to four losses or more, and the 49ers have the tiebreaker over both teams.

Add in a potential sweep over Seattle, and the 49ers would make up the ground they need to make the playoffs.  While obviously it would be easier if a couple of the five teams ahead of them slide back some on their own, the 49ers no longer need the help of anyone to get into the postseason.

It might not have been the prettiest win in San Francisco history, but this was a big week for the 49ers.  By surviving their last significant road trips of the season, the 49ers have ensured that they will remain relevant for the rest of the season.  The stretch run begins here.

Bryan Knowles is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers.  Follow him @BryKno on Twitter.