The 49ers won't be playing until Monday, but we've got plenty of NFL action today. The NFC West has two teams playing today, with the Rams hosting the Bears in the AM slate, and the Cardinals hosting the Colts in the afternoon.
The Cardinals game is a bigger deal, but for the AM schedule, Rams-Bears is pretty big. The Bears are tied with the 49ers, Lions and Cardinals. The Rams are two games back of those teams, which leaves them hanging around, but with work to do. A loss to the Bears would just about knock the Rams out of playoff contention.
The other two games of note in the AM are Panthers at Dolphins and Chargers at Chiefs. The Panthers have a one-game lead for the top wildcard spot. Given that they hold the tiebreaker over the 49ers, we'll need to see them lose a pair of games for the 49ers to climb ahead of them (assuming San Francisco wins some games!). Right now, that would be the difference between traveling to Detroit (Chicago) and Philadelphia (or Dallas). It's really just about getting into the playoffs, but that's something to note.
The Chiefs return home looking to bounce back from their first loss. They face a scuffling Chargers squad. San Diego is in the wildcard race, while KC needs a win to hang even with the Broncos.