Not to mention giving away games against Philadelphia and Atlanta.

Looking at our future schedule we have two rough road games (and given our complete ineptness on the road, it's a safe bet to assume we lose both of those) but otherwise a winnable schedule. A .500 season is looking like the best we can do and that is what makes that Carolina loss so brutal.

Can this team finish up with a winning record? Probably not but if we are to do so then the two games that will matter will be at Green Bay and at San Diego. Clearly, if we lose any other games then this is a moot point so I'll be operating under the assumption that we win every other game on the schedule. So, can we best GB and SD?

Both teams have great passing attacks and limited running games which is matchup hell for our Niners.  Both games are on the road where we've been entirely inept. Their strengths play into our weaknesses and our strengths are effectively useless on defense.

I don't think we can score with GB but if the weather is bad then that is the game that I think we have the best shot at winning. If it becomes a slug-fest in the mud then our running game might be the only offensively relevant part of the game.

I'm on the record as not liking SD much at all but there's no denying that Rivers has taken that under-talented offensive and made it a machine and it's only getting better week-to-week. If we were going to beat them, early in the season is when we had the best chance... the opposite as against GB.

I believe we'll run the table against our divisional opponents and if the weather is bad, I think we'll beat GB in an upset. That leaves the Tampa Bay game next week as our critical game for the season. Some way we have to find a way to beat them... thankfully the game is at home so I'll be a homer and chalk that up as a win.

Thus, I'm arguing that we have a fifty-fifty chance of finishing up the season at 9-7. Of course there's always the oh-too-plausible scenario in which we tank some inexplicable game and blow our season for good.