3 wins the San Francisco 49ers had during the bye week

The 49ers had a good week, and they didn't even play.

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The San Francisco 49ers entered Week 14 with a 9-4 record and a bye week ahead. While the team did not play any games, and they did not make up ground on the division, it is easy to find some clear wins for the team. 

San Francisco 49ers schedule got easier

It is unfortunate to see Daniel Jones go down with an Achilles injury that will end his season. Jones was having a breakout season, and it is a shame for it to end early. However, from the 49ers' perspective, this may have just shifted the game they were most likely to lose down the stretch into a potential easy win. 

The Colts are going from a veteran who is having his best season to a rookie who fell to the sixth round of the draft. The Colts have lost three straight and four out of five, with Jones being healthy through most of that. The Titans won their second game of the season in Week 14, so they may not be as focused and hungry as well. With two wins San Francisco gets to 11, and that may have been locked up this week.  

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49ers moved up in seeding 

The 49ers entered Sunday as the seven seed. They woke up Monday morning as the six seed. This could be a big difference for the 49ers. The difference between the two and three seed right now is the difference between the NFC West or North winner and the Eagles in Round 1 of the playoffs. 

Philadelphia is obviously a tough out as the defending champions, but most fans would have more fear in whichever team is hot enough to win the two seed. The 49ers would likely want these standings to hold up.

This happened because the Chicago Bears lost. Chicago played tough, but showed that they may be a year away from legitimately contending. This could be huge for San Francisco because these two teams play in a couple of weeks. Did the 49ers just see how beatable the Bears are?

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Two recent losses keep looking better

The 49ers are 4-2 in their last six games, with losses coming to the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Rams. If you asked a lot of people who the hottest teams in the NFL are, most would answer the Texans and Rams. The Rams have been hot and put it on the Cardinals. Most see them as Super Bowl favorites, so going 1-1 against them is impressive. 

Meanwhile, Houston is hotter than any team in the NFL. They are 6-1 in their last seven games. The wins come over San Francisco, Jacksonville, Buffalo, Indianapolis, and Kansas City. The Titans are a win they had as well, but those are three playoff teams: the Colts when they were healthy, and the defending AFC Champions in their own house.

Houston is arguably the best team in football over the last seven weeks. Sure, San Francisco may not be the best or second-best team right now, but those are the only teams that can beat them. They will be a tough out.