San Francisco 49ers v. St. Louis Rams: Can Niners Sneak Into Playoffs?

The San Francisco 49ers started the season 0-5 after being the unanimous favorites to win the NFC West.

In the worst division by far in the NFL, if the 49ers got on a hot streak from that point it would be easy to imagine them making the playoffs.  They've gone 5-4 from that point, a nice turnaround, but not good enough to get them into the post-season.

Wrong.

The 49ers are currently 5-9, and they have more than a good chance of making the playoffs.

It all starts this Sunday with the St. Louis Rams.  This game is the key that really opens the door to their playoff hopes.  A win may even make them the favorites going into the final week to win the division.

They beat the Rams in their first meeting, but the 49ers were at home and they only won by three points.  Expect a battle, and the team who truly wants it more will come away with the victory.

As you can expect with such a low record, they don't control their own destiny, but they don't need a miracle to occur either.

The Seattle Seahawks must lose one of two games for the 49ers to sneak into the playoffs.  Those two games include this week's match-up at Tampa Bay and next week's game at home against St. Louis.

The best chance for that loss will come against the Buccaneers this week.

The Buccaneers are 8-6 and still in the race for the final NFC Wildcard spot.  The Seahawks, a team who's 2-5 this season on the road, will travel from Seattle 2,529 miles to the polar opposite side of the country in Tampa Bay.

The Buccaneers are six point favorites.

With a win this week against the Rams and a Seahawks loss versus the Buccaneers, the 49ers would then control their own destiny.

The only game between them and the post-season: A home game against the Arizona Cardinals.

Arizona is 1-8 in their last nine games.  Last week, they lost to the Carolina Panthers. The Cardinals may be the worst team in the league right now.

San Francisco will be tied with St. Louis or Seattle at the end of the season, but the 49ers 3-1 division record will win them any tiebreaker.

Can the 49ers sneak into the playoffs?  Without a doubt.  

If everything goes their way, they would break the record for the team with the worst record to make the post-season.  Now, after an 0-5 start, that's something to be proud of, I think.

David Daniels is an NFL Featured Columnist and Writing Intern at Bleacher Report and a Syndicated Writer. Follow him at One Yard Short.com or on Twitter.