What history tells us what it means to be the last undefeated team in the NFL

NFL Network’s Andrew Siciliano has a segment called “Thinking out Loud,” and this week, he talked about the significance of the San Francisco 49ers being the last unbeaten team. Here is how the past five years have gone for the last undefeated teams:

2018: The Rams lost in the Super Bowl

2017 Chiefs: Lost their first playoff game to Titans

2016: The Vikings missed the playoffs

2015: Panthers lost in the Super Bowl

2014: The Cardinals, Bengals, and Eagles all lost in the Wild Card round of the playoffs

The good news is the 49ers won’t miss the playoffs, and likely won’t be a Wild Card team. That leaves one other option...

The last time the 49ers were the last unbeaten team in the NFL was in 1990 when they lost in the NFC Championship game. Siciliano’s point is that being the last unbeaten team in Week 9 doesn’t mean much. I see his point. He added that it’s better than the alternative.

The point I don’t understand is when Siciliano said, “history is working against the 49ers,” as if being undefeated is actually a bad thing. I’ve done some research on this, and winning, believe it or not, is good. I do know that the easiest way to the Super Bowl is getting a bye week. Wild Card weekend is full of craziness. Factor in the 49ers getting rest and having a significant coaching advantage, and I’d say it’s more likely this team is more like the last unbeaten teams in 2015 and 2018 than the other teams listed.

History doesn’t tell us much about what it means to be one of the last undefeated teams. The more we see NFC teams play, the more confident I am in San Francisco to play further into the season.