The San Francisco 49ers are kicking off against the Los Angeles Rams, and this game has taken on serious significance. The Cleveland Browns managed their first win of the season, beating the San Diego Chargers 20-17 thanks in large part to a blocked Chargers field goal in the fourth quarter and then a missed Chargers field goal as time expired. It was a wild final couple minutes, but the Browns won!
With the win, the Browns improve to 1-14, while the 49ers head into their game against the Rams at 1-13. If the 49ers win, they remain the No. 2 pick, but if they lose, they drop to 1-14, and the strength of schedule tiebreaker is in play. There are two tiebreakers for draft order. The first is strength of schedule, and the second is coin flip. The weaker schedule strength gets the better pick (given that they had the same record against worse opposition, so they’re “worse”). The 49ers entered today with an SOS of .509, while the Browns were at .555.
The 49ers all but assured themselves of the two pick with the Jacksonville Jaguars 38-17 win over the Tennessee Titans. The Jaguars improved to 3-12. Even if the 49ers win out and the Jaguars lose in Week 17, the 49ers have the edge in SOS, with Jacksonville entering Saturday at .545.
Of course, now watch the 49ers beat the Rams.