Thursday open thread: How many more games will the 49ers win this season?

There are only five weeks left in the weirdest NFL season in history. The pandemic caused the league to adjust on the fly, with many teams being forced to take the field without their best players due to the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols.

The San Francisco 49ers have not only dealt with the wrath of the coronavirus but also a ridiculous amount of injuries. The Niners lead the league in man-games lost to injury by a country mile going into Week 13.

With the return of Richard Sherman, Raheem Mostert and Deebo Samuel, the 49ers now have a little more than $69 million in salary on injured reserve. We know Nick Bosa, Dee Ford, Weston Richburg won’t be back this season, but we could see George Kittle back in Week 14, while head coach Kyle Shanahan is hopeful quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo could return for the final two games on the schedule.

Despite everything that has gone wrong for San Francisco in 2020, it is still in a position to claim one of the NFC’s seven playoff berths. Football Outsiders increased the Niners’ playoff odds by 13.8% after last week’s win over the Los Angeles Rams.

San Francisco is 5-6 heading into its final five contests. Over the past decade, 23% of the teams with a 5-6 record have advanced to the postseason. Those numbers reflect when 12 teams qualified for the playoffs, instead of this year’s revamped format that will have 14 teams in the postseason.

Here is how the Niners’ schedule looks through Week 17:

vs. Bills, vs. Washington Football Team, @ Dallas Cowboys, @ Arizona Cardinals, vs. Seattle Seahawks

Assuming all of the big guns — sans Garoppolo — remain healthy for the stretch drive (which is anything but guaranteed with the 2020 49ers), how many more games do you think the Niners will win?

Let us know how you voted in the comments below!