Despite all this, the 49ers sit just one win outside of first place in their division, with the Seattle Seahawks (6-5), Arizona Cardinals (6-5), Los Angeles Rams (5-6) and San Francisco all bunched up together battling it out for potentially just the one postseason berth.
Could it be the 49ers, who next head into Buffalo to take on the 9-2 Bills on Sunday Night Football – live on Sky Sports NFL from 1.20am, Monday – that ultimately prevail from the pack?
Neil Reynolds, Jeff Reinebold and Phoebe Schecter from the the Inside The Huddle Podcast gave their thoughts…
‘The stuffing has been knocked out of the Niners’
Sky Sports’ Neil Reynolds: The Niners are 5-6 and heading to the 9-2 Bills, who are coming off their bye week. It feels like these teams are on two very different paths right now.
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Monday 2nd December 1:10am
There was a shot of Kyle Shanahan [during the loss in Green Bay], he looked so stressed, like he’s aged this year.
And I was watching the game thinking, ‘Where’s Fred Warner?’ He has so many games where he screams for your attention, and that’s because I think much of his game is led by his intelligence, but also by intensity. I just feel like the stuffing has been knocked out of the 49ers right now.
It felt like the loss of Brock Purdy was the last straw.