A playoff berth in 2019 feels simultaneously like a pipe dream and a realistic expectation for the 49ers. They won just four games a season ago, and a five-to-six game turnaround isn’t exactly common in the NFL. However, after an offseason of getting healthy and addressing their top needs, a playoff berth feels closer than ever for San Francisco,
Sports betting site BetOnline.ag gives the 49ers a 31.8 percent chance to make the postseason. The Patriots have the best chance at 84.2 percent, while the league low belongs to the Dolphins at 8.6 percent.
Settling in around the middle of the league in terms of playoff chances feels right for San Francisco. They were a dark horse playoff team a season ago, but injuries left them with more questions than answers going into the 2019 campaign.
Perhaps the best news is that they’ve risen to this point despite only 10 wins in the last two seasons. A rapid turnaround does appear to be in the cards. All the other teams that finished with five or fewer wins last season sit at 26 percent or below in the BetOnline playoff chances.
There’s a chance the 49ers do win 10-plus games this season with a healthy quarterback and an improved pass rush. On the other hand, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that finish below .500 for the fifth consecutive year. It turns out they play the games for a reason.
A championship has never been won on paper in June. The best a team can hope for is to be trending in the right direction, and the 49ers appear by all accounts to be doing that. Landing in the playoff discussion heading into training camp is a rarity for a team that picked second in the draft. That’s exactly where San Francisco finds itself though.
Optimism tends to run high this time of year. Playoffs may be a laughable notion by Week 8 of the season. On the other hand, this season feels like a tipping point in the franchise’s history, and the 49ers are undeniably leaning the correct direction heading into training camp.
