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At this point, even with the win over Chicago, a lot of folks are less than optimistic about the 49ers playoff chances.  The Cardinals win yesterday certainly did not help the 49ers divisional chances, but plenty of other action had a big impact on the playoff race.  Our man urnext will be around later today with a comprehensive review, but I thought I'd take a look at yesterday's results in terms of the 49ers playoff picture.

Given how bunched up things are at this point, it's probably too early to make any decent conclusions.  At the same time, with the 49ers just over halfway through their season, this can also work as a de facto halfway point look ahead.  At this point the wildcard standings are as follows (not factoring in division leaders):

Philadelphia Eagles (5-4)
NY Giants (5-4)
Green Bay Packers (5-4)
Atlanta Falcons (5-4)
San Francisco 49ers (4-5)
Carolina Panthers (4-5)
Chicago Bears (4-5)

What makes this especially interesting?  The 49ers have road games against two of the teams ahead of them.  Just as helpful is the fact that the 49ers are currently 4-2 in conference, which is tied for the best conference mark among these seven teams (conference tiebreaker is the second tiebreaker after head-to-head).

More after the jump…

To say certain games on the 49ers schedule are “must-win” is a rather purpose-less statement.  Yes they have to beat teams like the Rams and Lions.  However, the tougher games are necessary wins as well.  They may not win every game, but as far as most of us are concerned, they need to pile up as many wins as possible.  I know, Captain Obvious speaking.

At this point, I think it's safe to say that every game has become especially interesting, even the Lions and Rams could be high stress games if the playoffs are on the line.  But for now, let's take a look at the particularly interesting games outside the division.  We have had plenty of opportunities to talk about the Cardinals and the Seahawks after all.  More to come on that later in the season.

Week 11 @ Green Bay: It may be the first regular season matchup between Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers, but both teams find themselves battling for their playoff lives.  While the 49ers still have a decent enough chance to win the division, Green Bay is three games back of Minnesota, who swept the Packers.  The Packers are coming off an ugly, but huge, win over the Cowboys at Lambeau.

The 49ers have struggled tremendously against Green Bay in the recent past.  How much?  The Packers are 10-1 against the 49ers since January 1996, with the Young-to-TO game being the one victory.  Can the 49ers reverse course this weekend?  Road games are always tough, and heading to Lambeau, even if it's not frozen tundra, makes for a difficult battle.  The Packers have been rather inconsistent at times so the 49ers definitely have more than a puncher's chance.  We'll have plenty more on this battle all week long.

Week 12 vs. Jacksonville: I'll be honest, for much of this season I really did not think particularly highly of the Jaguars.  I don't know why, but they just never struck me as a team that would make much noise.  All of a sudden the Jaguars sit at 5-4, in spite of a 39 point scoring deficit on the season.  Aside from a 20-point victory over the Titans, the Jaguars have won games by 7, 3, 3 and 2 points.  They've beaten one good team (Houston) and they've lost to a bizarro Seahawks.  Suffice to say, I don't really know what to make of the Jaguars.

At this point, offensively the Jaguars are built primarily around the fire hydrant legs of Maurice Jones-Drew.  Normally that'd play to the 49ers advantage in rushing defense.  Of course, the Titans were built primarily around Chris Johnson and handled the 49ers.  So again, who really knows what to expect.  I suppose we can thank the lord it's a home game.

Week 15 @ Philadelphia: Last season the 49ers actually had a chance to spring a big upset of the Eagles.  Mike Martz decided to get cute on offense and the 49ers managed to blow a nine point 4th quarter lead, giving up 23 unanswered points to the Eagles.  Maybe the 49ers still would have lost the game with conservative play-calling, but I'll stick to my interpretation.

The Eagles have been a wildly inconsistent team this season, and it's a bit questionable how good they are.  At this point they're better than the 49ers, but they're still not impressing many people.  Their biggest win was a home win over the Giants that doesn't look nearly as impressive right now.  And any team that loses the Oakland Raiders?  Well, they definitely still have their work cut out for them.  Of course, that doesn't mean they'll be any easier for the 49ers to handle.  Of the 49ers remaining games, this is probably the least likely for them to win.

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We all know the story by now. Brett Favre was mulling retirement and The Green Bay Packer's GM Ted Thompson basically wanted an answer yesterday about whether he would be returning. Favre decided to retire but soon wanted to come back. The Green Bay Packers had moved on with Aaron Rogers, so Favre wanted to be released. Ted Thompson looked into his crystal ball and apparently saw two defeats per season coming per year at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings if Brett Favre was in uniform for them. Long story short, after being treated very bad by Ted Thompson and the Green Bay Packers had their worst nightmare come true and then some. Favre is in a Minnesota Vikings uniform and has vengeance on his mind. He can say he does not, but I am sure the two victories against the Green Bay Packers are the two most savory of the year for him.

This game was hyped up all week. There were many people who believed the Green Bay Packers would prevail over the Minnesota Vikings because of being at home. The Packers also looked better head to head in several team categories. For many this would mark the true point of if the Packers made the right choice in their decision of dumping Brett Favre in Favor of Aaron Rogers. Favre answered that question for the second time of the season. Troy Aikman remarked during a pre-game show that it was the first time he can recall that much hype over a guy coming into the stadium just to warm up. I thought they did similar when Joe Montana went to Kansas City but that has been awhile so my memory is fuzzy.

The Green Bay Packers were owned by the Minnesota Vikings until well into the third quarter. The Packers then got lucky twice and threw very short Touchdown passes to Spencer Havner. They made it a ball game after that. It also did not help that the Vikings defense seemed to start breaking down, but in the end the best team won. I will give credit were credit is do though. Aaron Rogers did play a pretty good game. He completed 26/41 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He also had one fumble. What impressed me about him is that he kept the Vikings defense honest by showing his running abilities with 52 yards. He is probably one of the better running quarterbacks there is and is the best passer amongst the running quarterbacks. In all fairness he was running for his life at times since the Vikings nailed him six times for sacks including three by Jared Allen and another two by Ray Edwards. I am sure Aaron Rogers was saying to his linemen “you think you guys might want to block one of those guys sometime today” after he picked his rear end up off the ground. Their running game really did not do much like the last time they met. This is with the exception of a couple of lucky busted plays that Rogers scampered on.

Brett Favre ruled the field again for the Minnesota Vikings. I first have to give credit to his lineman as the Green Bay Packers were held without a sack. He completed 17/28 passes for 244 yards tying a career high with four touchdown passes and no picks. He moved around pretty comfortable in the pocket and picked the Packers apart. Many incompletions were receivers dropping the ball or not getting to a catchable pass. Adrian Peterson did not have a breakout day but played very well. He had 97 yards on 27 carriers and one touchdown. He held onto the ball this game and did not fumble it or get relieved of it like he did in the last meeting.

I wrote a previous article for their first meeting that you can read following the link to the left side. Many people thought I was nuts and the Green Bay Packers were going to win this game. It did not happen. If the Green Bay Packers had Brett Favre I believe they would have won that game. Regardless of the rest of the season I think Brett Favre made his point. I think they have a pretty good shot at a Super Bowl and would love to see them win it. I am a Ravens fan and only cheer for the Vikings because of how bad Brett Favre was treated by Green Bay. I would love to see the Vikings and Ravens in the Super Bowl and the best team wins. I would have to give that one to the Vikings but I think it would be a great close game. Ted Thompson needs to learn how to run a team. I wonder if Brett Favre would quote Toby Keith and say “How do ya like me now”.

Sources

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/gameTrax?gameId=20091101009

The NFL on Fox

ESPN news various occasions

How do ya like me now by Toby Keith

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