Until they are mathematically eliminated from NFL playoff contention, the 49ers are keeping the faith.
That much was evident in San Francisco's 38-13 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Levi's Stadium, where the 49ers' one-game-at-a-time mentality had them rolling to a Week 14 win. And that mindset, tight end George Kittle believes, could be enough to propel the team to the postseason.
"I mean, we still have everything in front of us to play for," Kittle told reporters after the game. "I know certain things might need to happen, but if we win every single game, I think we've put ourselves in a very good position to either win the division or somehow sneak our way into playoff contention.
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"I thought everyone's focused on this one week, ‘Hey everybody lock in.' Forget the whole season whether you've played like crap the entire season, whether you've had missed opportunities, or whether you have a bunch of touchdowns. Whatever it is, flush all that and just focus on this one game."
Sitting at 6-7 on the season and in last place in the NFC West, typically the outlook wouldn't be very good for the 49ers' playoff chances. But with just two games separating San Francisco from the West-leading Seahawks, anything could happen in the final four games of the 2024 NFL season -- especially with Seattle facing a tougher schedule to end the campaign.
After the 49ers' win over the Bears, NFL.com has San Francisco's chances of reaching the playoffs at 8 percent. Like we said, one game at a time.
"Put all your time and effort and energy into this one game and then we'll live with those results," Kittle continued. "I think the whole team did that the entire week. We had a great week of practice. Everyone was dialed in and then we went on to this game and ran the heck out of the ball. [49ers quarterback] Brock [Purdy] found a rhythm and our defense was on fire.
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"Playing team football, and I definitely think everybody in this building still believes - our coaching staff is excellent. Coach [Kyle] Shanahan dials up great game plans and our execution today was, I thought, really, really well done. If you can just combine those two things, our offense is pretty good."
The 49ers' win over the struggling Bears wasn't exactly a statement to the rest of the league, but to themselves. Each victory serves as a morale boost in a tough season -- and, perhaps, a boost in the standings.