Mina Kimes said it best: The NFC West and NFC East basically play two different sports.
Just look at the standings through Week 7 of the 2020 NFL season. After blowing out Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots 33-6 on Sunday, the 49ers still sit in last place of the NFC West with a 4-3 record. In the NFC East, it's the Giants -- who the 49ers beat 36-9 in Week 3 without Jimmy Garoppolo and many other top players -- that are in last place of their division with a 1-6 record. The discrepancy between the two divisions gets worse, too.
As The Athletic's Greg Auman noted Tuesday morning, the 49ers have a plus-45 point differential. By contrast, the Philadelphia Eagles, who are in first place in the NFC East, are just 2-4-1 and have a minus-33 point differential. Those are two different worlds of football.
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It continues to be baffling the 49ers lost to this Eagles team. Yes, Garoppolo still was ailing from a high ankle sprain and the 49ers were without Raheem Mostert, Nick Bosa, Richard Sherman and others -- but still, this one has to hurt for the 49ers.
While the 49ers continue their grueling schedule, they don't face a NFC East team until the Washington Football Team comes to Levi's Stadium on Dec. 13. The 49ers travel to face the Dallas Cowboys on the road the following week. Those are the 49ers' only remaining games against the putrid division.
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San Francisco 49ers
If the season were to end today -- yes, let's play the ridiculous hypothetical game -- the Eagles would be the No. 4 seed in the NFC and face the misleading 5-2 Chicago Bears. The 49ers, meanwhile, would be a No. 9 seed and out of the playoffs.
The 49ers can't get back that ugly Week 4 loss to the Eagles, but they can make up for it with wins over Washington and Dallas. First they must take care of business this Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks and ride that momentum into a Thursday showdown with the Green Bay Packers.