Golden Nuggets: What would be the best case scenario in the playoffs for 49ers?

San Francisco 49ers links for Saturday December 14, 2019

By Jeff Medina@JeffMedina49 Dec 14, 2019, 2:00am PST

The 49ers head into week 15 eyeing their first trip to the postseason since 2013. And while it’s important for the team not to get too far ahead of itself, the rest of us can at least begin to look down the road and ponder hypotheticals.

According to NFL.com, if the season were to end today, this would be the NFC Playoff bracket complete with seedings:

And while we know that any number of possible outcomes over the final three weeks may alter this bracket, there is also a very real possibility that this will in fact be very close to the final result.

Which begs the question: What would be the best case scenario for the 49ers in the 2019 playoffs?

In the wild card round there’s no question in my mind: The Cowboys beating the Seahawks would kill two birds with one stone - eliminating the Seahawks from contention and matching the 49ers up with the weakest opponent, by record, in the NFC at home. Of course nothing is guaranteed, but the Cowboys at home on two weeks rest is about as easy as it’s going to get.

On the other side of the bracket in the wild card round, the Saints beating the Vikings would be best case scenario. By eliminating the Vikings, the Cowboys become the lowest seed which gives the 49ers the easier opponent. Would it be nice to see the Saints eliminated? Sure. But that would give the 49ers a divisional matchup with the Vikings instead of Cowboys, which is a tougher matchup in my opinion.

In the divisional round, the Niners advance with a win over the Cowboys, and the Packers upset the Saints in Green Bay. The 49ers have already shown this year that Green Bay is a better matchup for them. And as exciting as it would be to see a rematch of the Saints/49ers game for all the marbles, it isn’t the path of least resistance.

So what is the ideal playoff scenario for the 49ers? I say home against that Cowboys and Packers, and then on to the Super Bowl.

What do you think Niners Nation? Agree, disagree? What would be the best case scenario for the 49ers in the postseason this year? Let us know in the comments below!

And now, onto those links:

What the Falcons are Saying about the 49ers ahead of Week 15 (Matthew Asher, 49ers.com)

49ers to place DL DJ Jones on IR (Kyle Madson, Niners Wire)

Should 49ers Take A Chance On Veterans Janoris Jenkins And Terrell Suggs? (Vincent Frank, Forbes)

List of 49ers on Injured Reserve (Kyle Madson, Niners Wire)

49ers expect Dee Ford to miss four weeks (Michael David Smith, NBC Sports)

49ers’ Kentavius Street a ‘good, strong’ player, will get opportunity with D.J. Jones out, says John Lynch (David Bonilla, 49ers WebZone)

Next Gen Stats show George Kittle’s impact in the 49ers run game (David Bonilla, 49ers WebZone)

3 reasons why 49ers should worry about Falcons in Week 15 trap game (Peter Panacy, NinerNoise)

Falcons vs. 49ers: 5 matchups to watch in Week 15 (Jeremy Wohlfart, NinerNoise)

Kentavius Street Could Make NFL Debut in Week 15 vs. Falcons (Kelena Martin, 49ers.com)

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