When asking 49ers fans before the season what they thought a best-case scenario for the team would be, you’d likely hear “win the NFC West” or “win 10 games” or maybe just “See Jimmy Garoppolo play a full season.”
One thing that might have sounded foolish at the time, “be the lone remaining undefeated team in the NFL,” no longer seems so.
With the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson dancing their way past the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football in a 37-20 victory, coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers now stand alone atop the NFL as the last undefeated team in the league.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
There was a chance both teams could have finished the year undefeated, as San Francisco is not scheduled to face off with New England this regular season.
The last time the 49ers started 8-0 was 1990, a season where the team reached 10-0 before falling in Week 12 to the Los Angeles Rams.
With eight games remaining, a perfect 16-0 for San Francisco is far from a certainty. The 49ers still have to travel to the same place where the Patriots had their record tainted in early December when they visit John Harbaugh’s upstart Ravens.
[RELATED: Seahawks' win solidifies epic clash with 49ers on MNF]
San Francisco 49ers
There are also games against the likely playoff-bound Saints, Packers, and Seahawks (twice) before the regular season concludes.
But 49ers fans can enjoy the week as the de facto No. 1 team atop the NFL mountain.